


Kindred 5: The Kids

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: Kindred Series [5]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Brothers, Clones, Conspiracy, Gen, Genetics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:48:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8450527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: Isaac comes up with an interesting answer to the Hansons' problems, but not everybody is on board. Mark decides to work with Russo in return for a favor. Carey finds out the big secret, and Jesse has some revenge to dish out.





	1. Chapter 1

“So I spoke to the front desk,” Nikki moved some hair out of her eyes, “they’re fine to extend for another week if we wanted to.”  
“Another week?” Isaac’s brow rose and he scratched his cheek.  
“Yeah,” she shrugged, “I mean it’s a nice place, the boys like it here… we haven’t had any trouble, so why move on yet?”  
Isaac looked through the window into the café where Everett and Monroe were ordering some food.  
“It wasn’t the plan,” was all he could come up with.  
“Screw the plan,” Nikki frowned, “we can’t do this forever.”  
“It hasn’t even been a year,” Isaac muttered under his breath.  
“And a year is about a tenth of the boys’ lives already,” Nikki wasn’t having it.  
Isaac sighed to himself, seeing Monroe carefully making his way back with their coffees.  
“Okay,” he shrugged, “we’ll stay.”  
“Thank you,” Nikki was suddenly beaming before turning her attention to Monroe.  
She helped him set the coffees down before he turned to Isaac.  
“Dad? I think Uncle Tay’s in there but he’s being weird,” he pulled a face.  
“Wasn’t Tay in Dallas yesterday?” Nikki looked confused.  
“He was,” Isaac was looking through the window again, “where?”  
“Everett’s talking to him. Or trying to.”  
“Do you think…?” Nikki was looking him in the eye.  
“Stay here,” Isaac put a hand on Monroe’s shoulder as he stood, “I’ll go check it out.”  
He made his way into the café, excusing himself as he made his way through the crowd toward where his eldest son stood at the front of the line. He could see the barista bent over the counter. Everett jumped when Isaac touched his shoulder and the barista stood up. Isaac froze on the spot.  
He _was_ the spitting image of Taylor, but there was something odd he couldn’t quite put his finger on. His hair was in a similar style to the last way he’d seen Taylor’s so that couldn’t be it.  
“Dad he’s being weird,” Everett broke his haze.  
“Pére?” the stranger raised a brow.  
“Oui,” Isaac nodded, squeezing Everett’s shoulder and indicating for him to step aside, “pardon.”  
The man shrugged and moved on to serving the next customer.  
“Dad! What’s going on?”  
“That’s not your Uncle,” Isaac said under his breath as he led him out of the café.  
“But Dad-“  
“Just come outside!” Isaac insisted, not wanting to cause a scene.  
“-What about our food?”  
Isaac stopped in his tracks and winced.  
“Go out to your Mom, I’ll get it,” he insisted, sending his son on his way.  
He turned back apprehensively. He could see the food had been set aside, and the barista was watching him with an amused glint in his eye as he continued to serve customers. Isaac still couldn’t put his finger on what seemed off about him but tried to put it down to the language barrier.  
He paused to wait until he’d finished with his current customer before stepping forward.  
“Excusez-moi,” he apologised to the person behind them, before taking a moment to try and get his French together, “toi… ah… you, toi, you look like my brother.”  
The man squinted, knowing he was trying and seeming to give him the benefit of the doubt.  
“Brother? Ah…” he quickly pulled out his phone where he had a translator he’d been using, “frére?”  
“Pardon?”  
“Parlez-vous anglais?” Isaac raised a brow.  
“Er... small,” he held his pointer and thumb half an inch apart, “small, small English.”  
“Okay…” Isaac quickly typed into the translator, “vous regardez… comme mon frére?”  
Not sure he was saying it properly, he showed him the screen with both translations. He seemed to consider it for a moment, he seemed to consider Isaac for a moment, and then his eyes lit up.  
“Hanson!” he exclaimed, “you are Hanson?”  
“Yes!” Isaac was just happy to get his point across, “I mean, oui! Isaac.”  
The man was smiling now and he indicated the phone. Isaac shrugged and watched as he began to type. One of the other workers walked past and quite obviously berated him for not serving further customers but he just waved her off. When he handed the phone back Isaac couldn’t help but smirk. The translator said ‘people tell me I look like Taylor Hanson’.  
“You certainly do,” Isaac said aloud, “what’s your name? Prénom?”  
“Keandre,” he offered his hand, which Isaac shook.  
He took the phone back and typed again. Isaac checked over his shoulder, seeing his wife watching from outside. Keandre handed the phone back.  
‘Why are you in France?’  
“Vacation?” Isaac tried, relieved when he nodded.  
He took the phone back and typed ‘what time do you get off work?’  
When he handed it back, he caught a small wince. Worried that Keandre wasn’t interested in maintaining contact he quickly pulled the phone back and retyped.  
‘I think it’s important to talk to you. Can we talk?’  
Now he just looked confused.  
“S’il vous plaît?” Isaac pleaded.  
Keandre took the phone and translated ‘is something wrong?’  
Isaac stopped to think about that one. On the one hand, yes. On the other, he didn’t want Keandre running away just yet.  
‘I have some information you will be interested in,’ he typed, ‘about your parents’.  
Now Keandre was frowning and he checked over his shoulder. In doing so he caught the other barista doing something wrong and quickly berated her.  
“S’il vous plaît,” Isaac repeated, trying to get his attention again.  
Keandre sighed before typing back.  
‘What about my parents?’  
‘I know who they are,’ Isaac responded, ‘I know why you were adopted’.  
Keandre shook his head at that and shrugged before his lacklustre response.  
‘I was not adopted.’  
Isaac froze on the spot before his eyebrows rose. He looked Keandre in the eye but got nothing back. He seemed done with the conversation, and looked a little awkward.  
Isaac’s mind raced.  
“She ran,” he realised aloud, “she fled the country. She brought you here.”  
Keandre’s eyes narrowed and Isaac realised he’d only understood a couple of words.  
‘You were born in the States,’ he typed.  
Keandre hesitated at that, pursing his lips. Isaac couldn’t help but flashback to Taylor working in the studio. The thought killed the mood a little.  
“Oui,” Keandre eventually frowned.  
‘Did your mother ever talk to you about an experiment?’ Isaac asked next.  
Keandre shook his head before looking over his shoulder again. Isaac could tell he was uncomfortable and really wanted to leave.  
‘Please meet me after work?’ he tried again, ‘we have a lot to talk about, I promise.’  
Shifting his weight, Keandre held up his hand.  
“Cinq,” he said, “je finis à cinq.”  
“You finish at five?” Isaac checked, taking the phone back when Keandre nodded, “great! Five! Merci! I will be back.”  
Keandre just shrugged again before turning and getting back to work. Isaac finally walked out.  
“Your coffee’s getting cold,” Nikki gave him a sly look.  
“Who was that?” Everett asked.  
“A good lookalike,” Isaac insisted as he sat down, “I’m going to come back and talk to him later today.”  
“You are?” Nikki raised a brow, “does he… know?”  
“I don’t think so,” Isaac shook his head, “and I’m not sure I want to be the one to tell him either.”  
“Know what?” Monroe asked.  
“You might not have a choice there,” Nikki pointed out.  
“I need to call Tay,” Isaac rolled his eyes, sipping at his lukewarm coffee.

Mark grunted as he was pushed down into the opposite couch to Russo, but whoever had hold of his hair wasn’t letting go.  
“And if you are not who we think you are…” the much larger man seemed amused, “just who might you be?”  
“My name’s Mark,” he tried to look up at the man that held him but couldn’t see his face, “Mark Miller.”  
Russo eyed the man and indicated for him to let Mark go. Once he had Mark grunted and scratched at his head.  
“You’re his brother,” Russo was suddenly not amused, “we knew of a brother, but he neglected to tell us he was a twin.”  
“Sure,” Mark glared at the man standing over him.  
“Where’s Colin?” he demanded, looking down with a stern expression.  
“Dead,” Mark blurted, before wondering if that was such a good idea.  
“How long?” Russo was stroking his beard calmly.  
He didn’t seem at all surprised.  
“I don’t know. At least six months,” Mark shrugged, “I’ve been living here since then.”  
“Why?” the man above him demanded.  
“Because my place fucking sucks, why do you care?” Mark scorned.  
“There’s no need for the language,” Russo insisted, “if you’re his brother you’re already aware of Mr Reis’ extra-curricular activities.”  
Mark shrugged at that.  
“The question now is… how can _you_ help me?”  
“Hey, this thing was Colin’s forte, not mine,” Mark insisted, “I highly doubt that I can help you at all.”  
“If he’s no use to us…” the man behind him suddenly armed a gun.  
_His_ gun, Mark quickly realised.  
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” he insisted, raising his hands, “what do you want from me, I’m not a lawyer! I don’t know what he was doing with all the numbers bullshit! I wouldn’t know where to start!”  
“You’re not making a case for yourself,” Russo pointed out.  
“Tell me what I can do,” Mark insisted, “if I just have to look like him, I can do anything you want.”  
“Do you have access to his accounts?” the man over him asked.  
“I could get it,” Mark shrugged, “but last I heard he didn’t have anything in them.”  
“What did he tell you?”  
“Nothing, he wasn’t big on spreading the brotherly love,” Mark scorned, “we found out later he transferred all his money out before he died.”  
He froze when Russo stood from the chair. He wasn’t intimidated by his henchmen, but Russo was something else altogether.  
He made his way over to Mark’s side, taking a gentle hold of his chin and turning his head to the side. Mark quickly realised he was studying the scar.  
“Do you know where to? And how much?” he asked absently.  
“All he had left, he split it between four accounts,” Mark felt himself tense, “four mil all up.”  
“Only four?” Russo’s interest seemed to peak.  
“It was all we found,” Mark frowned before Russo let his chin go.  
Russo paused, staring at his chest. When he reached over to pull Mark’s shirt aside at the collar Mark didn’t move. Russo looked over the tattoo he’d seen the edge of with interest.  
“You’re nothing like your brother,” he mused, his eyes meeting Mark’s.  
“It’s been said,” Mark swallowed a small lump in his throat.  
“But you might still be able to help us,” Russo let his shirt go, “your physical resemblance may come in handy for dealing with our mutual acquaintances. How many people know that he is dead?”  
“I don’t know,” Mark answered honestly, “I came here… a few days after. He’d been gone for two weeks. I haven’t met anyone else.”  
“Even better,” the man behind him commented.  
“You obviously don’t have his cell phone,” Russo observed.  
“No,” Mark admitted, “the people that killed him took everything.”  
“You know who killed him,” Russo realised, and Mark immediately regretted saying it the way he did.  
“…Sort of,” his brow furrowed.  
“Did you kill him?” the man behind demanded.  
“No,” Mark wasn’t at all confident in his answer but quickly tried to cover it, “I was just there.”  
“What happened?”  
“It doesn’t matter what happened,” Russo insisted, “what matters is who knows that he is gone, and if it’s going to influence our future dealings with the law.”  
“I can count on one hand the number of people who know,” Mark tried to assure, “no one that would be a problem. I don’t think. But the people who took his body, the people responsible… they might be a problem.”  
“Who are they?” the third man asked from over his right shoulder.  
“They’re scientists, from Nevada,” Mark answered openly, “possibly now in Dallas. They held him captive for two weeks before his death. Now they could be after me too.”  
If getting on the right side of the mob was going to help Mark avoid Morris and his colleagues, he was going to take that route for all he was worth.


	2. Chapter 2

Taylor cleared his throat as he dialled and held the phone to his ear. He kept his eyes to the bedcovers as he concentrated on keeping himself calm. It had been a good couple of hours since ending the call with Natalie and he hadn’t spoken to anyone since.  
“Taylor?”  
“Hey Alex,” he had to clear his throat a second time already, “I need a favor.”  
“Shouldn’t you be asleep? Has Mark called yet?”  
“No, and… that’s not going to happen,” Taylor scratched his forehead, “do you have a direct line for Dr Morris?”  
A pause.  
“Why would you want that?” Alex’s tone had changed.  
Taylor hadn’t been prepared for a Q&A. He closed his eyes.  
“Do you have one or not?” he asked.  
“I could probably find one but I really think you should tell me why first.”  
“How long will it take you?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor could hear typing, “it shouldn’t be long. I just have to-“  
“Please call back when you find it,” Taylor’s voice softened, “and don’t tell Carey.”  
He hung up and dropped the phone onto the bed again. It sat there for another thirty minutes before it rang. Taylor snatched it up and answered without checking the caller ID.  
“What is it?” he asked, ready to write the number down.  
“Tay you will not _believe_ this,” he jolted at the sound of his brother’s voice, “I just found another clone. I spoke to him and we’re catching up later. I mean he doesn’t even know English, this is insane!”  
“What are you talking about?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “you think you found number seven?”  
“It must be! I mean he is the absolute spitting image of you. The boys thought he _was_ you, I had to tell them it was just a good lookalike.”  
Taylor rubbed his face tiredly. He certainly wasn’t awake enough to deal with this right now.  
“What’s wrong?” Isaac picked up on it immediately.  
Taylor hesitated, but took a deep breath before responding.  
“I’m waiting for a call from Alex. He’s going to give me the doctor’s direct line.”  
“Is he now…?” Isaac was taking a moment to come down.  
“I want to negotiate my surrender,” Taylor’s voice broke as he looked to the ceiling.  
“You what?” Isaac’s voice immediately lowered, “Tay why would you say such a thing? What’s going on?!”  
“They found them,” Taylor came out with right away, “they found them, and… I wasn’t there. They took Ezra and Penny.”  
He licked his lips as he struggled to keep himself composed.  
“Tay I’m sorry,” Isaac said after a pause, not sure what else to say, “what can I do?”  
“Nothing,” Taylor shook his head, “there’s nothing we can do. I know what they want. I just have to give it to them.”  
“Giving yourself up can’t be the only way,” Isaac didn’t want to argue but knew he wouldn’t be thinking rationally either.  
“I nearly did already,” he shook his head, “I flew to Dallas to give myself up. The deal was they would leave my kids alone.”  
He shrugged.  
“But I ran. Now they’re paying the price for that.”  
“Didn’t you say they wanted them anyway?” Isaac frowned, “how could you ever trust them to keep up that bargain?”  
“I didn’t, but I didn’t think they’d find them,” Taylor shrugged, “I only went because Alex called and said they had his Mom. They were threatening to kill them if I didn’t come in. They were after Jesse too.”  
“This is insane. How desperate are these people?”  
“Thirty-three years’ worth,” Taylor smirked.  
“I guess…”  
“I don’t know, I’m just tired,” he sighed, “I’m tired of running. I’m tired of being scared of these people. I just want it to end.”  
“You don’t know that it will,” Isaac pointed out, “and even if you do go they’re still going to be after us, after Mom and Dad…”  
“All I know,” Taylor sighed, “is that my kids are scared, or they’re drugged to the hilt, and they’re alone. And Nat’s hurting right now and _I’m not there_!”  
“Do you remember exactly what the doctor said about them last time you were there?” Isaac tried to focus him.  
“Um…” he cleared his throat again, “I don’t remember much at all. So much of it was just a haze.”  
He shook his head and bit his lip.  
“You know I get it?”  
“Get what?”  
Taylor paused, licking his lips again.  
“I get what Colin meant. I get what he meant when he said this was never going away, and I get why it was too much for him. I don’t blame him for what he did. Not at all.”  
Isaac didn’t know what to say to that. Taylor hadn’t told them much about what had happened in the labs, and Colin’s last words to him had been the subject of speculation. Down to Colin having known that Isaac was Baby Zero after all – or simply deciding that if he were gone Taylor would obviously be next.  
“Don’t hate me for suggesting this,” he began cautiously as Taylor wiped at his face, “but is there any possible way that we can just talk to these people?”  
Taylor nearly broke into a laugh.  
“I’m serious though,” Isaac insisted, “their goal is research, right? They aren’t supposed to be evil incarnate. We need to find out how far they want to take this. Maybe it’s worth going in for a few tests if we can all get our lives back.”  
“I don’t know that ‘a few tests’ is all they want,” Taylor’s voice broke again.  
“Have you asked?”  
“I didn’t really get a chance to, they were pretty solid on their interrogation method,” he scoffed.  
“Look I know this wouldn’t exactly be ideal,” Isaac quickly covered, “but I think it’s something to consider. I’d certainly be happy to put my hand up if it means us walking out of there with your kids. The only true reservation I’d have would be what they want with our parents.”  
“Jail I’d assume,” Taylor shrugged, “or death, considering they already threatened Alex.”  
“Maybe it’s worth finding out for sure,” Isaac suggested, “before you run off and do something stupid.”  
“It’s not stupid if it’s the only thing left,” Taylor defended.  
“But right now it’s not the only thing,” Isaac insisted, “and I don’t know if you realise this but… if we continue doing what we’re doing, our lives are practically over already. We’re never going to tour again, we’re never going to write together again. We’ll be lucky to even be in the same _place_ again because we’re too busy being worried someone will spot us.”  
He paused to lick his own lips apprehensively.  
“I don’t know how much longer we can do that for. We made ourselves pretty recognisable. Even Keandre recognised me.”  
“Who?” Taylor jumped on the distraction, his heart already heavying with his brother’s words.  
“Keandre, the other ‘you’,” he explained, “he’s a barista at this café we went to this morning.”  
Taylor looked across at the clock on the bedside table. He was sure more now than ever that his brother was in Europe, but he was still afraid to ask where.  
“Does he know?” he asked.  
“No, I don’t think so. But get this – he wasn’t adopted.”  
“You’re serious?” Taylor frowned.  
“Yeah. I mean I didn’t get much out of him but he said he was born in the States but brought here as a kid. I think his mother escaped with him and raised him herself.”  
“Like ours did,” Taylor realised, “it makes sense that not all of them would have gone into the system.”  
“It does. But… it’s not going to help my case when I try and explain this to him,” Isaac winced, “ _if_ I explain this to him. I’m undecided yet.”  
“What’s stopping you?”  
“Legitimacy for one,” Isaac thought out loud, “proof, for another. All I have is a story and a blurry photo of Mark leaving that motel in Broken Arrow.”  
“Yeah… I guess proof might be a problem,” Taylor realised.  
“Would be handy to meet more than the twins,” Isaac seemed to hint, “how is Alex anyway? What happened there?”  
“He’s okay, I think,” Taylor shrugged to himself, “Jesse showed up and saved the day.”  
“That seems to be his ‘thing’.”  
“It does,” Taylor mused, “but I’m not complaining.”  
“Have you talked to him about this yet?”  
“No. Nat tried calling him but got no answer,” he rubbed his face again, “she tried calling him before calling me, even. Whatever he’s doing he’s too busy to come to the phone right now.”  
“I’m sure he has a good reason,” Isaac insisted, “don’t panic yet. I think talking to Jesse first would be a great idea.”  
“Maybe…” Taylor trailed off, more so just wanting to get it over with if he did have to surrender.  
Isaac grit his teeth before suddenly remembering something.  
“Tay where are you?” he asked.  
“I don’t know if I should say,” Taylor frowned, more out of habit he realised now.  
“You said Dallas,” Isaac reminded him, “give me a hint. Have we been there before?”  
“Why? You’re not coming back,” Taylor insisted, “it’ll be too late by then anyhow.”  
“Just tell me where you are.”  
Taylor sighed and looked to the window.  
“Same place we stayed last time,” was his hint, “the last time we came here not on the bus.”  
“Hang tight, I’ll call you back,” Isaac promised, “do _not_ call the doctor before you hear from me. You promise?”  
“Sure. Fine,” Taylor sighed.  
Isaac abruptly hung up and Taylor dropped the phone again, slightly annoyed.

Isaac rushed through his contacts, finding the number and dialling. Someone very tired picked up on the other end.  
“Ike what the Hell? It’s ten at night here.”  
“I know, I’m sorry,” he frowned, “but I need you to get to Dallas.”  
“…Why?”  
“Tay’s in trouble. He’s in Dallas, at the same hotel we stayed at last time, and he’s about to surrender himself to the labs. How long will it take you to get there?”  
“Ah… about four hours. Three if I take a few liberties.”  
“Make it three, he was about to call the doctor when I just spoke to him then.”  
“Why? What’s going on? And why is he back in the States?”  
“They’ve got Ezra and Penny,” Isaac admitted.  
There was a pause on the other end before Isaac heard movement. It sounded like he was getting out of bed.  
“When did it happen?” Zac asked in a low tone.  
“I’m not sure I only just found out,” Isaac shrugged, “apparently there was a whole thing with the other clones and some were taken hostage and they were threatening to kill them unless Tay gave in and he somehow got away but now…”  
“So they took his kids?” Zac frowned, “are we sure we can’t get the police involved in this?”  
“I’m not sure they even know where they’ve taken them,” Isaac scratched his neck, “the only hint they have is ‘Dallas’.”  
“So I guess I’d better get there anyway…” Zac sighed, “tell him I’m on my way.”  
“I might not tell him it’s you,” Isaac’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, “maybe if I tell him it’s Jesse he’ll actually wait.”  
“Now that hurts my feelings.”  
“He’s not in his right mind,” Isaac insisted, “so just hurry.”  
“Like I said, on my way.”  
Zac ended the call before Isaac could, and Isaac ran his fingers through his hair as he wondered what to tell Taylor.  
“Anything I can help with?” Nikki poked her head into the bathroom when she heard the call end.  
“No, thanks,” Isaac mused, “just trying to stop Taylor from doing something stupid.”  
“Good luck with that,” Nikki mused before disappearing.


	3. Chapter 3

Taylor was pacing three hours later. Alex wasn’t answering his calls, and Isaac hadn’t been clear on what he was up to. When there was a knock at the door just after 1am Taylor darted toward it with his heart racing. Already thinking the worst before he looked through the peephole, he was simply confused when he saw who it actually was.  
He quickly moved the catch and opened the door.  
“What are you doing here?” he frowned, looking his brother up and down.  
“I’m here to save you from your hero complex,” Zac pushed past and into the room, “where’s your cell phone?”  
Taylor quickly checked down the hallway before closing the door and replacing the catch. By the time he’d returned to the room Zac had found the phone on the bed and picked it up.  
“Did you make the call yet?” Zac raised a brow.  
“I haven’t heard back from Alex,” Taylor folded his arms, “and he’s not answering my calls. I don’t have the number.”  
“Good,” Zac pocketed the phone making Taylor roll his eyes, “Jesse still isn’t answering so I guess that means he’s asleep, like any sane individual. Alex might have gone to bed too.”  
“Alex hasn’t slept in days,” Taylor’s eyes fell to the floor, “I get the feeling.”  
“I guess you do,” Zac turned and sat down on the bed, “I heard of another feeling you suddenly get too. Something to do with Colin’s suicidal urges.”  
Taylor’s eyes narrowed and he was already berating Isaac in his head for not keeping his mouth shut.  
“So I’m going to sit here until we actually _do_ get a hold of Jesse – or come up with another backup plan – to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”  
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Taylor’s brow rose.  
“Apparently you do right now,” Zac shrugged, “or just someone with a level head at least. Looks like I’m the best you’ve got.”  
Taylor rolled his eyes and leant back against the wall.  
“What if being asleep isn’t the reason Jesse isn’t answering?” he wondered aloud.  
Zac took out his own phone and he dialled Isaac’s number before putting it on speaker.  
“I guess we’ll find out one way or another,” he reasoned as it was quickly picked up.  
“Zac?” his voice came through on a delay.  
“Yeah I’m here. He’s alive, and here,” Zac confirmed.  
“Great. We need to talk.”  
“About what?” Taylor demanded, “there _is_ no backup plan! You’re relying on a possible serial killer to fix all our problems!”  
“We don’t know that he’s a serial killer,” Zac insisted.  
“You didn’t see what I saw,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“And you said yourself that you were drugged and can hardly remember anything.”  
“I remember _that _! I’ll never forget that!”__  
“Let’s try and stay calm,” Isaac’s voice came through, “even if it’s not the most ideal way to go about it, Jesse is at least an option. Based purely on the fact that he got you out last time and I’m sure he could do it again.”  
“I’m sure too,” Taylor muttered, “but that doesn’t mean I want my kids exposed to that.”  
“Which would you prefer?” Zac scowled, “that they stay at the labs?”  
“Of course not,” Taylor scorned back.  
“Does he have the number?” Isaac asked Zac.  
“Not yet, I figure Alex might have passed out,” Zac replied.  
“Odd time to do that.”  
“According to Tay he’s been awake for days already so… not really.”  
Zac jumped. Taylor watched him curiously as he reached for Taylor’s phone which had been in his back pocket before he showed him the screen.  
“Speak of the devil,” he mused.  
“What is it?” Isaac asked.  
“Alex is calling, give me a second,” Zac insisted before answering.  
Taylor came forward to take the phone away but Zac inched back on the bed and swapped hands.  
“Hey… Alex?”  
“…Yeah? Who’s that?” he sounded apprehensive.  
“It’s Zac, Tay’s brother,” he quickly introduced himself, “we haven’t met. I’m here with Tay right now.”  
“Oh thank God. Why does he want this number?!”  
“Do you have it?” Zac’s eyes went to Taylor.  
“I do but I don’t want to give it to him. I got a bad feeling about it.”  
“I don’t blame you,” Zac insisted, “he wants to give himself up.”  
Taylor rolled his eyes and walked back to the wall. The longer they screwed around, the longer his kids were in danger. It was already driving him crazy.  
“What?! Why?!”  
“They’ve got two of his kids,” Zac relented, “we figure they’re probably going to use them to blackmail him. We’re coming up with plans right now.”  
“This is like a never-ending rollercoaster,” Alex complained.  
“Tell me about it,” Zac smirked, “and I think it’s about time we got off it. Why don’t you go ahead and give me that number.”  
“…Are you sure?”  
“I’m sure,” Zac’s eyes were locked on Taylor’s, “we’re going to have to talk to this asshole eventually. It might as well be now.”  
“Okay then. As long as you won’t let Taylor-“  
“Don’t worry about him, I’ve got this,” Zac insisted, moving over to use the hotel stationery.  
He copied the number down as Alex relayed it before tearing the page off and keeping it in his hand.  
“Thanks Alex. Go get some sleep,” Zac insisted.  
“I doubt I will but… good luck.”  
“What’s happening?” Isaac’s voice came through the moment Zac hung up.  
“I’ve got the number,” he looked between Taylor and the phone, “now we just need to decide what to do with it.”

Carey reached over from the bed to grab his phone from the bedside table. He showed Emma the screen before answering.  
“What’s up Alex? You okay?”  
“I guess. But Taylor’s not.”  
“Now what?” Carey frowned, sitting up properly.  
“The labs have his kids,” Alex revealed, “he told me not to tell you, but Zac’s with him now so… I think his brothers have his back right now.”  
“Shit,” Carey’s hand went to his head, “when did this happen?!”  
“Last night I think,” Alex was obviously keeping his voice down, “he called me around 8pm and it’s… 3am now. He called because he wanted a direct number for Morris.”  
“Did you give it to him?”  
“No, I gave it to Zac. I don’t know what he’s going to do with it.”  
“What’s going on?” Emma sat up with him.  
“They’ve got Taylor’s kids,” Carey quickly told her.  
“Shit.”  
“Anyway I just figured you should know. Zac said he was going to try and give himself up but he was there to stop him.”  
“Where are they?” Carey asked.  
“Still in Dallas I guess?”  
“What the fuck is Mark doing?” Carey rubbed his face.  
“I haven’t heard from him since he left Miami.”  
“He texted me when he landed, that’s the last I heard,” Carey admitted, “could you check on him please?”  
“Sure. What about Taylor?”  
Carey paused to shake his head.  
“We’re heading home first thing in the morning. Back to LA,” he said, “I’ll try and get hold of Mark. Let me know if anything changes.”  
“I will,” Alex promised, “and… Jesse’s not answering his phone either.”  
“He’s probably asleep,” Carey sighed, “or he’s ignoring us again. Who really knows with him?” 

“So what do we do?” Zac asked, holding the phone out.  
“Give me… eight hours,” Isaac responded, making Taylor roll his eyes again.  
“Why?” Zac frowned.  
“I’ve got a meeting with someone,” Isaac replied, “and it’ll give me time to talk it over with Nikki. We might even hear from Jesse by then.”  
“I’m not waiting eight hours! That’s ridiculous!” Taylor’s voice rose, “every minute we wait they could be hurting them!”  
“They wouldn’t even be in Dallas yet Tay,” Zac tried to reason, “not unless they got on a plane right away and I’m pretty sure they don’t do overnighters.”  
“How do you know they flew commercially?” Taylor demanded, “if they went to specifically bring someone back, why wouldn’t they charter?”  
“He’s got a point,” Zac said into the phone, “we don’t want to waste time.”  
“It’s not wasting time,” Isaac insisted, “and I think we all need to take the moment and calm down. This time will prove that we aren’t rushing into anything.”  
“Why do I get the feeling you already have a plan that you haven’t told me about?” Zac’s eyes narrowed and he looked up at Taylor.  
“He wants to ‘talk’ to Morris,” Taylor’s brow rose, “and come in with me.”  
“ _What?_ ” Zac demanded.  
“It’s not what he’s making it sound like!” Isaac defended, “I just said that we should talk to the doctor and find out exactly what he wants because maybe it won’t be half bad and we could get it over and done with and get back to our lives!”  
Zac was speechless. Taylor gave him a pointed look.  
“So what you’re saying…” he began, “is that somehow, between the two of you, I’m probably losing a brother tonight.”  
“That’s not it at all,” Isaac insisted as Taylor nodded to himself, “we’re still figuring things out. But if we _are_ going to make this call we want to make sure we’re both saying and asking the right things. We need as much information as we can get so that we can make an informed decision about what to do next.”  
“But we know what they want!” Taylor was starting to show his desperation, “what makes you think they aren’t going to say absolutely anything we would want to hear, just to get us both in there? Just to get our parents in there? If I go in by myself it’s just a trade-off, me for them. Once you get involved it all goes to Hell!”  
“Do you know where Mom and Dad are?” Zac frowned.  
“I don’t,” Isaac admitted, “I only know where you guys are, that’s it.”  
“How long will it take you to get back here?” Taylor asked.  
“I don’t know, maybe… at least twenty-four hours. I’d have to take a few flights.”  
“Then if you want to be a part of this party you might want to get on that flight,” Zac’s brow rose.  
“I’m going to ah…” Isaac trailed off for a moment.  
“Ike? You there?” Zac checked.  
“Yeah, yeah. I think I’m going to take these few hours to decide for sure, and then I’ll organise it tonight for the morning if I have to.”  
“Second thoughts?” Taylor prodded, pacing by the bed.  
“Not at all,” Isaac insisted, “just working it out in my head. I want you guys to sleep on it.”  
“I’m not sleeping,” Taylor scoffed.  
“And I’m not letting Tay near the phone while we have this number so I guess I’m not either,” Zac reasoned, “if I have to tie him down to keep him here you bet I will.”  
“Like I couldn’t kick your ass,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed.  
“You could, usually,” Zac agreed, “but right now you’re emotionally compromised and I’m willing to bet that levels the playing field so bring it on.”  
Taylor just rolled his eyes again.  
“You guys okay…?” Isaac asked.  
“Fine,” Zac insisted, eyeing his brother as he continued to pace.  
“I’ll call you guys back when I’m done, okay? If you hear from Jesse, call me.”  
“Will do,” Zac promised before hanging up. 

“Come on, come on…” Carey grit his teeth as he paced by the bed.  
“Is it ringing?” Emma was holding her bump as she sat back against a pillow.  
“It’s going to voicemail,” he admitted.  
“Then calling a million times isn’t going to spontaneously turn the phone back on,” she insisted.  
Carey grunted in frustration and threw the phone onto the bed.  
“He’s the only one left with a damn tracer. I should have listened to him. I should have helped him find someone to cut it out!”  
“I’m sure he’s okay, it’s Mark we’re talking about,” Emma reassured, “for all we know he could have gotten drunk and passed out the moment he got home.”  
“No he wouldn’t do that,” Carey shook his head, “he had shit to do, he wouldn’t just start drinking.”  
“Then you’re just going to have to wait for Alex,” she shrugged.  
Carey took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.  
“Realistically we can’t do anything until we get home anyway,” she reasoned.  
“And even then…” his hands went to his hips, “what are we going to do from LA?” 


	4. Chapter 4

Mark eyed his cell phone where it sat on the table in the middle of the room. They were making sure to keep it well out of his reach. Despite it being turned off he was sure there’d be a ton of missed calls by now.  
“Have you ever met any of Colin’s associates?” the muscle was asking while he was distracted.  
“Not that I know of,” he answered honestly.  
“We could tell them he had a mishap with his face,” he looked to Russo.  
“The scar is obviously old,” Russo waved his hand dismissingly, “we would have to cover it.”  
“He’s already been missing for six months.”  
“It would cast far too much suspicion.”  
“No one’s going to believe he had a secret twin…”  
Mark was eyeing the phone again, trying to figure out either how to get to it or how to get these men out of the apartment altogether.  
“Hey,” he jumped when he was hit on the shoulder, “are these scientists going to be a problem?”  
“Definitely,” Mark nodded, “I know they have eyes on this place already and they put a tracking chip in my neck.”  
The three men shared awkward glances.  
“A tracking device?” Russo confirmed.  
“Yeah right here somewh-“  
He jumped again as the man at his shoulder took hold of his arm as he was about to point it out. Realising he’d made a sudden movement that he shouldn’t have, he grit his teeth in wait for Russo’s nod. When he gave it Mark used his finger to push at the chip below the skin so that it was visible.  
“Why are they tracking you?” the third man demanded.  
“They’d be tracking Colin too if he were still alive,” Mark looked up, “I’d like to say it’s just because they’re assholes but it’s because they want to be able to bring us in for experiments whenever they want. Something to do with biology.”  
“You’re saying ‘we’,” the second picked up on, making Mark pull a face when he realised his mistake, “who else is involved?”  
“No one here, in Chicago,” he assured, “they’re spread out over the country.”  
“How many?”  
“What does it matter?” Mark shrugged, “this has nothing to do with anyone else this is only about what I can do for you. As far as I’m concerned, if you guys want to help me with this – get this thing out of my neck and keep them off my back – I’ll do whatever you want whenever you want. Consider me your bitch.”  
Russo’s brow rose and he moved to walk back toward the other sofa.  
“You’d feel indebted,” he reasoned.  
“I wouldn’t just feel it, I would be,” Mark insisted, “this is the biggest thing fucking up my life right now and I don’t have anything to lose here.”  
“We will need time to think it over,” Russo insisted, eyeing his muscle coyly, “take his phone.”  
“I need that,” Mark insisted, watching as it was picked up.  
“Calm yourself,” Russo insisted as it was unlocked, “we are just adding a number.”  
Mark watched on curiously before jumping as he heard something vibrate near him. Russo revealed his own phone from a pocket before locking eyes with the other man and giving him a nod.  
He passed Mark’s phone back to him.  
“If this number calls, you answer immediately,” he insisted as Mark caught on.  
A quick look at the screen showed nineteen missed calls and another eight messages. But he focused on the number that had been added to his address book.  
“We will be in contact once we decide what to do with you.”  
“Okay…” Mark’s eyes followed him as he went to retrieve his coat from the couch.  
“You’ve given us a lot to think about,” Russo assured, “but I don’t doubt that your services… as amateurish as they may be, may come in handy.”  
“Whatever you say,” Mark shrugged.  
“Stay there until we’re gone,” the large man ordered.  
“Good morning, Mark Miller,” Russo gave him a nod before walking past.  
Mark took a deep breath as all three headed to the elevator, resisting the urge to call Carey then and there. He waited until he heard the doors close behind them before springing to his feet.  
The first thing he did was return Carey’s many calls.  
“Mark what the fuck!”  
“What the fuck is right!” he exclaimed, “I fucked up! But maybe I didn’t. I don’t know yet.”  
“What happened?!”  
“Russo was here waiting for me!” he ducked to the side so he could see through to the elevator to make sure they were actually gone, “he thought I was Colin and that he’d been ignoring him since… well, that.”  
“You’ve spent the last few hours with D’Angelo Russo…?”  
“Yes! I think he wants me to work for him, in Colin’s place!”  
“Mark you can’t do that,” Carey insisted, “you’re not a lawyer, and if you screw up they’ll kill you.”  
“Who cares if they do or the scientists do at this point?” Mark scoffed, “and if it gets Morris off my back, even better.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“I told him. Not the whole story, obviously, but I told him about Morris. I think he might look into it.”  
“What do you mean ‘look into it’…?”  
“I mean I scratch his back he scratches mine, right?” Mark shrugged as he began to look around to make sure nothing had been taken, “I wasn’t going to go into business with the mob without telling them about the tracer, that shit would definitely get my head blown off.”  
“You might want to think long and hard about getting involved with them at all,” Carey insisted, “please – sleep on it, at least.”  
“I will. Now to get back to what I was _originally_ doing…”  
“Oh. Don’t bother with Taylor. Just find something for Alex,” Carey quickly corrected.  
“…Why?” Mark paused.  
“He found out they’ve got his kids, so Zac met him in the city instead,” Carey quickly covered, “to try and stop him doing something stupid. Much like it sounds you’re about to.”  
“Hey, if I had a choice maybe it would be stupid,” Mark defended, “but they weren’t exactly in the mood to negotiate anything. So I’m finding somewhere for Alex, right?”  
“Right,” Carey sighed, “as soon as possible. I don’t like leaving him there alone, and Jesse’s not answering his phone again in case anything goes wrong.”  
“What is with that guy?” Mark scorned, suddenly remembering that his gun was gone and starting to look for it.  
“I don’t know and I don’t want to ask. Let me know when you’ve sorted Alex out.”  
“Will do bro,” Mark took the cue to hang up and keep looking for his gun.  
He eventually found it back in the dining area in the desk the third man had been standing beside the whole time.

“How long can we keep doing this for?”  
“What?” Zac looked across, turning the volume down on the television as he did.  
Taylor was looking up from where he sat on the floor against the wall.  
“How long can we live like this anyway?” he shrugged, “running and hiding. How are our kids supposed to be able to have any kind of life like that? And who says it’s over when we’re gone? What if they want to follow the bloodline?”  
“Then nothing we do will change anything,” Zac shrugged, “so what’s the point in worrying about it?”  
“What’s the point?” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “would you wonder the point if it were Shepherd or Junia in that situation?”  
“I’d be more worried about where they are right now, not what might happen fifty years from now,” Zac corrected.   
“Wouldn’t you give yourself for them?” Taylor tested.  
“If I knew it would change anything? In a heartbeat,” Zac assured, “but we don’t know that you sacrificing yourself will actually change anything at this point. If we get some kind of divine confirmation I’ll drive you there myself.”  
Taylor diverted his eyes at that. He was still on edge at having to wait for Isaac’s call, but Zac wasn’t leaving him any choice. Natalie hadn’t called back either.  
“Can I ask what’s going on with Ike?” Zac asked suddenly.  
Taylor’s eyes shot to him worriedly. He didn’t want to have this conversation, especially now of all times. But they had a whole lot of waiting left to do and he knew Zac would be persistent.  
“I mean I got your back and all that, but I’m not offering to hold your hand and walk you in there like he is. Just makes me think I don’t know the whole story is all.”  
“You don’t,” Taylor said simply.  
“Right. So…?”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered and he started picking at his nails.   
“Don’t you think there are enough secrets going around at the moment?” Zac coaxed.  
“I don’t feel like it’s my place,” Taylor shrugged.  
“What, like this has nothing to do with you?”  
Taylor locked eyes with him again, before sighing in frustration.  
“Every clone has an original, right?” he began.  
“Of course.”  
“Well…” he shrugged again, “Ike’s our original.”  
Zac’s eyes narrowed as if he were trying to tell if Taylor were serious or not. Coming up empty he shook his head.  
“That doesn’t make sense,” he insisted, “I mean sure you look alike but only in the way that I look like you guys too.”  
“That was the point,” Taylor started scratching at his arm pacifyingly, “they were playing with genetic modification. They wanted to prove that they could change anything they wanted in an embryo. To make them whatever they wanted.”  
“So why do they all look like you then?” Zac frowned.  
“They said something about replicating the process to prove that it wasn’t a fluke,” Taylor thought back to the conversation with his parents, “so I don’t know if they went through the process twelve times or if they just cloned me or what.”  
He shrugged.  
“It’s not important to us. What is important is that they worked out who Ike was last time I was in there and they want to get their hands on him too.”  
Zac took a deep breath and put a hand on his head.  
“So… Ike kinda wants to give _himself_ up for Penny and Ezra,” he realised.  
“I think he thinks it’ll be a quick fix,” Taylor frowned, “he thinks that if we give them what they want – us – they’ll leave us alone afterward.”  
“And you don’t.”  
“No I don’t,” Taylor shook his head, “there’s no way that what they want from us can be dealt with overnight. They’ve been waiting three decades. They’ll want to tear us apart. Not to mention they want Mom so they can look at her womb too.”  
“Why?” Zac jumped on.  
“Because I was never supposed to have kids,” Taylor’s brow rose, “we’re all supposed to be sterile. So now they want to know what’s different, whether it’s just me or if it was because Mom carried me.”  
“They do realise her womb isn’t exactly what it used to be, right?” Zac pointed out, “so whatever properties they might be looking for could be well and truly gone.”  
“We don’t know what technology they have at their disposal to check,” Taylor shrugged, “maybe they can tell anyway.”  
“And maybe it’s all bullshit in an effort to just bring her in and hold her responsible for the fact that you’re a free man,” Zac suggested.  
“That too,” Taylor agreed.  
“Ike better have a Hell of a plan by the time he’s done,” Zac sighed, debating turning the television up again or not.


	5. Chapter 5

Isaac looked up as another car approached. It was ten past five already and he was beginning to wonder if Keandre had stood him up.   
It was another five minutes before the door to the café opened and he saw him emerge with one of the female workers. His arm was around her shoulder as she locked the door behind them before being startled when she looked up to see Isaac standing nearby. Keandre followed her eye line and a look of realisation crossed his face.  
He said something to the girl in a low tone before giving her a kiss on the cheek and bidding farewell. She turned to walk away and he slowly made his way toward Isaac.  
“You are here still,” he seemed to muse.  
“Of course,” Isaac raised a brow, pulling out his cell phone in case they needed it again, “that your girlfriend?”  
Keandre looked over his shoulder, scratching his cheek.  
“She is a girl, she is a friend,” he smirked as he turned back, “oui.”  
Isaac hesitated at that but thought it better not to ask.   
“What do you want?” Keandre’s look turned stern.  
Isaac took a quick look around to make sure they were alone before indicating for Keandre to join him on the bench seat out front of the café. He sat down first as Keandre watched awkwardly, before he finally took a seat at the other end.  
Isaac started going through his phone.  
“It is late,” Keandre pressed, pointedly looking bored.  
Isaac found the picture of Mark and handed Keandre the phone. Expecting the translator instead he took a moment to study the photo.  
“Taylor,” he said aloud.  
“That’s not my brother,” Isaac insisted, making Keandre look up, “this guy’s name is Mark Miller. He lives in Los Angeles with his identical twin, Carey.”  
At the look Keandre gave him he realised he’d only caught part of what he’d said. Knowing he’d already gone overboard he indicated for Keandre to hand the phone back and he quickly found the translator.  
He shortened the sentence but got the point across.  
“May I see?” Keandre asked, indicating the phone again.  
Isaac brought the photo of Mark up again and let Keandre study it closer. He was frowning the entire time and soon started shaking his head.  
Finding the translator himself he responded.  
‘You think I am a twin. But I am not.’  
Isaac grit his teeth at that, wondering how to explain further. It would have been hard enough if he’d actually had one of the clones there to prove it, let alone having a language barrier as well.  
“Not a twin,” he corrected aloud as he typed, “but a clone. There are five more of you, including my brother.”  
He waited anxiously for a reaction when he handed the phone back. Keandre’s face twisted into a look of confusion before downright denial.  
“No,” he said aloud, shaking his hand insistently before typing ‘it’s impossible. I am not the same’.  
“You are!” Isaac insisted, “I know my brother better than almost anyone and I’m telling you, you are!”  
He frowned when Keandre leant forward, worried for a moment that he was going to pass out before seeing him rub at his right eye. When he sat up again he realised that wasn’t what he’d been doing at all… He’d been proving a point.  
By removing a contact lens.  
“Oh. Oh wow…” Isaac couldn’t help the shock on his face, “…your eyes are brown?”

Alex jumped when his laptop beeped, having been resting his head on the table next to it. He’d actually gotten about an hour’s worth of sleep while his mother slept on the bed behind him.  
He straightened the headset on his ears and quickly accepted the call.  
“Yeah?” his voice croaked.  
“Sorry I took so long. You okay there?”  
“Mark?” he frowned, “what happened? Who were those guys in the apartment?”  
“Just your friendly neighborhood mob boss,” Mark blew off, “ready to write down this address?”  
“Um, no,” Alex quickly typed something, “text it to me. I’ll send you the number.”  
“Sure thing.”  
“What’s going on with the mob boss?”  
“If you’re lucky I might even tell you later,” Mark quipped, “I gotta get some sleep. Good luck Alex.”  
Alex sighed to himself.  
“Thanks,” he said before ending the call.  
He paused to wait for Mark’s text to come through, and when it did he quickly looked up how far away the safe house was.  
Somehow they were going to have to make their way to Louisiana.  
He checked over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t woken his mother up, and debated if he should just to tell her. Knowing she hadn’t slept much herself he decided against it. A few more hours of peace wouldn’t hurt.

‘I don’t know what went wrong but you have to be one of these clones,’ Isaac insisted into the translator, ‘you are too much alike’.  
Keandre was still disagreeing.  
‘Everyone has a double somewhere, I think Taylor is mine,’ he translated.  
“I wish I could prove this to you in an easy way,” Isaac muttered to himself, taking another quick glance up and down the street.  
Keandre meanwhile removed the other lens before digging into his satchel for a glasses case.   
After desperately trying to come up with another way, Isaac began to type. He mentally prayed for Keandre’s patience knowing this was going to take a while.   
Keandre had simply started playing on his phone in the meantime and Isaac was glad he hadn’t just decided to leave.  
He quickly read over the text before translating it and holding the phone out for Keandre to take. He took a moment to finish what he was doing but started to read. Isaac focused on his face, waiting for a reaction.  
When Keandre shot him some questioning glances, he finally thought he might be getting somewhere.  
Keandre read it over a few times before responding.  
‘You think my mother was a part of the experiment’.  
“Yes,” Isaac insisted sincerely, “I think she saved you.”  
Keandre adjusted his glasses, looking only a little confused. Isaac was sure even without knowing the words that he was finally getting the gist of the story.  
He paused before responding again.  
‘How many clones are there?’  
Isaac considered the question for a moment. He hadn’t known about Keandre, and Colin probably didn’t count anymore. Doing a quick count on this fingers he agreed with his earlier conclusion.  
“Six,” he held up his fingers.  
Keandre only looked worried.  
‘Is my family in danger?’  
“Maybe,” Isaac replied aloud before taking the phone back.  
‘The scientists are looking for anyone involved in the project. You all might be in danger’.  
Keandre rubbed his face at that. Isaac hesitated before taking the phone back.  
‘Have you been approached by anyone yet?’  
Keandre looked a little too worried at that. He shook his hand a little before typing.  
‘I was attacked some months ago, but it was weird’.  
“How?” Isaac frowned, indicating for him to keep typing.  
He looked like he was having trouble finding the wording, but he attempted to type it nonetheless. Isaac fleetingly wondered if he should call Taylor while he was with Keandre but figured the language barrier would make it pointless.   
When Keandre handed the phone back Isaac’s brow rose at the length of the story. What followed was an account (full of oddly substituted words) of an ‘attack’ that had happened one night while he’d been waiting for a ride home from work. From what Isaac could tell, someone had approached him on the street and for seemingly no reason had started to hit him. He was hit over the head and had passed out. When he woke up he was already at home and had felt a pain in his arm. He’d been afraid to go to the doctor about it, but had found something there himself.  
When Isaac looked up Keandre was showing him his arm. Using his pointer finger to press the skin, Isaac could clearly see the square edge of the chip.  
“Wow,” Isaac rubbed his head again, realising that Keandre probably had no idea what it was.  
He also felt a chill run down his spine, and mentally prayed that no one was watching then and there.  
‘It’s a tracking chip’ he translated, ‘so they know where you are. Taylor had one too. They all did.’  
The worry was definitely showing in Keandre’s eyes now.  
‘Why are you really in France?’ was his next question.  
‘We are hiding’ Isaac admitted right away, ‘Taylor isn’t here, but we have a problem. They found his kids.’  
Keandre rubbed his face again at that. Isaac knew it was a lot to take in, so gave him all the time he needed.  
‘What are you going to do? What can I do?’  
‘Be careful’ was Isaac’s first response, ‘if you get the chance, remove the tracer and disappear. We don’t know where or when or why they might come for us’.  
‘You are including yourself’.  
‘Long story’ Isaac insisted, not wanting to add that on.  
‘Can I contact you?’  
“Sure,” Isaac insisted, indicating for Keandre to hand him his own phone.  
He added his phone number. Keandre simply sent him a text so that he’d have his number too.  
“I need to leave,” Keandre said aloud as he put the phone away, “are you stay here?”  
“No,” Isaac shook his head, “I’m leaving… probably tomorrow. Tomorrow?”  
Keandre nodded to say that he understood.  
“I need to go help Taylor,” he elaborated, “I don’t know if I’ll be back.”  
Keandre looked up as a car approached, headlights shining on them for a moment. When Isaac realised it was coming to a stop he got to his feet.  
“Can I take a photo?” he asked hopefully, making a camera action.  
Keandre nodded before taking off his glasses. Isaac leant in for the selfie, Keandre pulling a face as he did. Glad to finally have a photo of a clone other than Mark, Isaac couldn’t help but smile.  
“Merci,” he said emphatically as Keandre collected his bag, “and good luck.”  
“Je t'enverrai un message,” Keandre gave him a nod, “au revoir.”  
“Au revoir,” Isaac returned, watching as he went to the window of the car and leant in.  
He spoke quickly with the girl in the driver’s seat before opening the door, offering Isaac a smile, and getting in the car. Isaac saw her lean over for a kiss before the car pulled away.  
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he took another quick look around before starting to head back for the hotel.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to take that?” Carey offered as they walked through the airport.  
“I’ll be better when we get home, and no,” Emma sighted the three bags he was already carrying.  
Carey took the hint and closed his mouth.  
“Speaking of which… exactly which ‘home’ are we going to?” she asked, having to stop for a breather.  
“The new house should be ready, I doubt it’s on the tracers,” Carey looked through the airport crowd for the millionth time to check that there were no familiar faces waiting, “we could go straight there. We’ll sort out moving our other stuff over later.”  
“And what if it _is_ on the tracers?” her eyes narrowed.  
“Then we’ll sell and find somewhere else,” he shrugged, “regardless, I’m pretty sure they’re preoccupied right now.”  
“I guess…” she admitted, “poor Taylor.”  
“Yeah,” he agreed, watching her as she held her bump, “are you sure you’re okay?”  
“I swear if you ask me that one more time today-“  
Carey held up a hand and took a step back.  
“Hint received,” he assured.  
She took a deep breath before continuing to walk.  
“I hope you remember how worried you are now when it comes to being woken up in the middle of the night for a nappy change,” she said pointedly.  
“I’m sure I will,” he mused, following along.


	6. Chapter 6

“I’m going to set the cells together so hopefully you can hear everything,” Zac announced, setting them together on the desk as he spoke, “can you hear us okay?”  
“I can hear you fine,” Isaac insisted from the speaker.  
Zac dialled from his own phone and waited as it rang.  
“We should put them on charge, we don’t know how long this will take,” Taylor suggested, rubbing his hands together as he paced behind him.  
“This one should be quick,” Zac insisted just as the call was answered.  
“Zac?”  
“Jesse, hey,” he cleared his throat, “I’m here with Tay. We’ve got a favor to ask.”  
“Just give me a second to wake up,” he sounded drowsy.  
There was a short pause before his voice came back.  
“Why are you with Tay? What’s happening?” he already sounded more alert.  
“Jesse they were in Cancun,” Taylor addressed him directly, “they took Ezra and Penny.”  
“No way.”  
“Unfortunately… way,” Zac scratched at his stubble, “so now we’ve got both Ike and Tay convinced that they can talk to Morris and figure out either a trade or…”  
“If we can give them what they want, within reason, maybe we can all go home,” Isaac’s voice came through, “hi Jesse.”  
“Hey Ike. Uh…”  
“Can we count on your backup?” Taylor folded his arms, “if we go in, can we give them a deadline? If they cross it, you come in.”  
“Uh…”  
“This is all going to come to a head sooner or later,” Isaac insisted as Zac looked between Taylor and the phones, “I’d rather not be on the run any longer than necessary. If all they want to do is some genetic testing on my part and on Taylor’s and on Taylor’s kids, I don’t feel like that’s something we should throw our lives away for.”  
“And I just want my kids out of there,” Taylor added.  
“Uh. I thought they wanted your parents too?”  
“We don’t know where they are,” Taylor’s eyes met Zac’s for a moment.  
“If we can’t offer them anything they shouldn’t have any reason to hold us,” Isaac added, “I believe that’s why they let the Miller brothers go.”  
“I don’t entirely buy it,” Taylor pulled a face, “because I couldn’t offer them much last time and they still held onto me then.”  
“But we don’t know what else they might have had in mind,” Isaac pointed out, “so maybe there’s testing to be done or something.”  
“But I’m willing to go back if it means my kids get out,” Taylor shrugged, “no matter what comes of it.”  
“Okay,” Jesse didn’t sound happy, “give me a second to… where are you?”  
“Dallas,” Taylor replied, “we don’t know where the lab is but we’ll get Zac to stay in contact with you.”  
“Not too far away. Okay.”  
“Sorry to dump this on you right away but we want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible,” Taylor stepped closer.  
“I get it. When are you thinking of making this deadline?”  
“I need to get back to the States,” Isaac admitted, “so not for… I don’t know. How long should we give them?”  
“Two days? Three?” Zac suggested, looking up at his brother.  
“So not for at least five days from now,” Taylor concluded.  
“Easy done,” Jesse assured, “I can do a lot with five days’ notice.”  
“I’m glad to hear it,” Isaac insisted.  
“Give me a call when you go in,” Jesse was fighting a yawn, “we’ll confirm everything and… yeah. Good luck I guess.”  
“Thanks Jesse,” Taylor stepped back again.  
“Yes, thank you!” Isaac agreed.  
“Talk soon,” Jesse ended the call from the other end.  
Zac took a deep breath and eyed Taylor again.  
“Now for the hard part.”

“Yes?”  
“Is that Ivan Morris?” Zac felt a chill in his spine just thinking that it might be.  
“It is.”  
“Great. My name is Zac Hanson, I’m here with my brother Taylor,” he was formal, “we were wondering if you had a moment?”  
Taylor’s fists had clenched at the sound of the doctor’s voice, but following his brother’s orders stayed silent.  
“I’ll always have a moment for the Hansons,” his voice went from apprehensive to cat-caught-the-canary and it made Taylor swallow hard, “what can I do for you boys?”  
“Obviously there’s been a bit of a communication breakdown,” Zac began cautiously, “and we are aware there’s some things we could help you guys with, so… we’d like to talk about what we can both do for each other.”  
He shrugged awkwardly but Taylor didn’t respond. He was staring at the phone as he paced.  
“You could start by telling us where you are,” Morris suggested, “I’d much rather discuss this in person with you.”  
“No,” Taylor’s response was instant and stern.  
“That’s probably not going to happen,” Zac covered, though he was sure Taylor had been heard, “but we just have some questions to ask before we start negotiating.”  
“Negotiating… what exactly?”  
“Don’t say it,” Taylor insisted, “he might get ideas.”  
“You’ve mentioned in the past that you’re interested in both Taylor and Isaac’s biology,” Zac decided to stick to the script, “we just want to know exactly what tests you’ll be running and how far you want to take it.”  
There was a pause on the line, making Taylor frown. He started biting at his nails as he paced.  
“It will be mostly genetic testing focusing on their DNA and its counterparts,” Morris began slowly as if talking to a child, “Taylor has been through most of it already. We’d also like to test other physical attributes such as strength and bone density. It comes down to a glorified health chart.”  
“And what else?” Zac pressed.  
“Nothing else.”  
“Bullshit,” Taylor spat, “that can’t be all.”  
“I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but it was all in an effort to bring us together,” Morris was addressing Taylor directly now, “without a need to ask for your brother’s whereabouts there is no need for a repeat of last time.”  
“I don’t believe it,” Taylor shook his head, “you still want to find our parents.”  
“That is true, but it’s no longer a priority,” Morris considered, “our case studies have moved on.”  
“How long will it take for you to run these tests?” Zac tried to get them back on track, “provided you intend to let them walk out when you’re done.”  
“We have no need to keep anyone here longer than necessary,” Morris assured.  
“And how long is necessary?” Zac jumped on.  
“You’re asking how long the experiments will take?”  
“I’m asking how long it will take to collect the data and let them walk,” Zac insisted.  
There was a sigh and the sound of someone talking in the background. They couldn’t make out the words but it made Taylor pause.  
“At least three days, give or take,” he came back with.  
“Should we tell Jesse four?” Zac lowered his voice as he turned to his brother.  
“We’ll tell him three,” Taylor insisted before raising his voice, “and how long do you plan to keep my kids?”  
“If you come in today they’ll be ready to leave when you are,” Morris was starting to sound happy at the prospect.  
“I still don’t trust him,” Taylor looked to Zac, “it’s up to you if you want to, but I want my kids back.”  
“Your children are fine,” Morris assured, “the sooner you get here, the sooner you can see them.”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed at that and Zac held a hand up to stop him from saying anything.  
“Provided we were agreeing to this,” he cut in first, “you need to tell us where the lab is.”  
“I will once I have your word that Taylor will come in.”  
“You’ve got it,” Taylor insisted, “just tell me where my kids are.”  
“Are you ready to write this down?”  
“Yes,” Zac picked up a hotel pen, “go ahead.”  
He copied the address that Morris relayed, keeping one eye on Taylor to make sure he didn’t bolt for the door.  
“Now we need your word that after the deadline you’re definitely going to let them go,” Zac’s voice was stern.  
“Like I said, we have no reason not to. Provided he agrees to come in for further testing if needed.”  
“He said that last time,” Taylor scoffed, “they didn’t let me go then.”  
“We weren’t finished,” Morris corrected, “this time you’re implying that you’d like to see it through to the end. I’ll assume this means you boys would like to go home at some stage.”  
“How did you guess?” Zac muttered to himself before clearing his throat, “give us two days to think it over. We’ll be in touch.”  
“Wait!” Taylor darted forward before Zac could end the call, “I want to talk to my kids! Where are they?”  
“I’m not currently at the labs,” Morris replied, “and you’ve somehow managed to find the number for my personal cellular. I would let you if I could, but I can’t.”  
“Thanks, bye,” Zac said quickly before hanging up.  
“Asshole,” Taylor cursed under his breath, hands going to his head.  
“Well I don’t know about you but I don’t feel any better about this after that call,” Zac rubbed his chin.  
Taylor just shot him a glare as he went to sit on the bed. Zac sighed and used Taylor’s phone to dial Isaac again.  
“How’d it go?” were his first words.  
“Not great,” Zac admitted, “but I think we’re forming a plan at least. He says three days to take everything he needs from you guys then he’ll let you – and the kids – go. So I think if we give Jesse a three day deadline that’s something we can work with.”  
“Tay you okay?”  
“Fine,” he answered a little too quickly.  
“But are you fine with that plan?”  
“I was fine already because I was going in anyway,” he shrugged, “this is entirely up to you now.”  
“Great,” Isaac sighed, “I guess I’ll head for Dallas. Want me to let you know flight details?”  
“Probably a bad idea,” Zac considered, “just come straight here when you get in.”  
“I’ll call you.”

Jesse rolled over in bed when he heard the front door open and close, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. It wasn’t long before he heard footsteps coming toward the bedroom and he looked over to see his wife appear in the doorway.  
“Have you heard anything?” she asked.  
“No,” he replied, “I told them to call when Ike got back to the States. That’ll take a while.”  
“So we have some time left?”  
“At least a day,” his brow rose.  
She looked back over her shoulder before coming to sit on the bed beside him. He reached an arm out to rest his hand on her thigh.  
“Have you thought any more about it?” he asked, not showing a hint of worry.  
“I don’t want to make any solid decisions until we settle somewhere,” she looked down at him, “but you were right, and I do like the idea.”  
“You do?” a hint of a smile played on his face.  
“There’s a lot of kids out there in need of a good home,” she nodded to herself, “and if we can’t have any of our own… maybe it was always God’s plan that we take care of some of the less fortunate.”  
Jesse’s hand rubbed her leg gently as his breathing quickened.  
“I agree completely,” he assured.  
“I know it’s a long process,” she went on, “but maybe… just maybe, within ten years we’ll be parents after all.”  
“I want nothing more,” his brow furrowed.  
“I know you don’t,” she smiled, before leaning in to kiss him.  
He snaked his hand around behind her neck to hold her as he responded emphatically. When they finally let go he took a deep breath.  
“I love you Mama,” he grinned.  
“Love you Papa,” she returned.


	7. Chapter 7

Isaac made his way up to the front desk and leant over it to wait until the young girl finally looked over her glasses at him.  
“We’d like a room for two, please,” he smiled.  
“Excuse me?” she frowned.  
“Isaac and Taylor Hanson, checking in,” he glanced over his shoulder at Taylor standing nearby, “Dr Ivan Morris is expecting us.”  
“I’m not sure he’s in, I’ll just check…” she eyed them suspiciously as she picked up the phone.  
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Taylor said between his teeth, “a very, _very_ bad idea.”  
“Shut your pie hole,” Isaac hit right back, smiling at the girl again when she looked up.  
She was a moment longer before hanging up the phone.  
“He’ll be down in a moment, take a seat,” she nodded toward a set of five chairs.  
“Thank you,” Isaac gave her a nod before turning away.  
They made their way to the seats where Isaac sat down and Taylor stood aside with his arms folded. The entrance area was certainly busy. Numerous people in lab coats were making their way in and out, and security guards were both starting and ending their shifts.   
“Doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would abduct children from Mexico,” Isaac was looking around.  
“You’ll soon change your mind,” Taylor insisted, his eyes on some far doors where most of the doctors were coming from.  
It was being watched by two guards who checked the ID of everyone going through.   
“Does it look anything like the Nevada one?” Isaac’s brow rose.  
“I wouldn’t know,” Taylor muttered, “I never saw the outside of it. They always drugged me and made me wear a hood.”  
Isaac paused at that. While Taylor had continuously insisted these had been the worst times of his life, he hadn’t really elaborated on any methods these people had used. He was suddenly wishing he’d asked a few more questions first.  
“That’s him,” Taylor’s eyes were still on the door.  
Isaac looked across to see a trio headed their way, led by a bald doctor in a large white lab coat. The two men with him wore scrubs, but they were twice his size.  
“Those two were at the airport,” Taylor took a step back, already regretting his decision to come.  
“Ah… Taylor,” the doctor’s smile was broad as he closed in, “it’s good to see you.”  
He held out his hand but Taylor wouldn’t unfold his arms. Morris took a moment to comprehend the rejection before turning to Isaac.  
“And you are…?”  
He stood from the seat and straightened his jacket.  
“Isaac Hanson,” he introduced, keeping one eye on Taylor as he spoke.  
“Really?” the doctor’s brow rose, shooting Taylor a glance, “well this is unexpected. But a marvellous surprise nonetheless. Please… both of you, follow me.”  
He backed away, looking like he didn’t want to take his eyes off them this time. Taylor followed first knowing that the two others would wait. Isaac eyed them both before making a move.  
When they got to the doors Morris insisted they were both with him and the guards simply nodded and let them through.   
“I want to see my kids,” was the first thing Taylor said, “where are they?”  
“All in good time,” Morris insisted, “we’ll need to make sure we take care of your end of the bargain first. Which due to our hurried deadline, is now time sensitive.”  
He paused at a white door and indicated for Taylor to go in first.  
“We’ll get started right away.”  
“What about me?” Isaac asked before Taylor could move.  
“You too,” Morris assured, “you’ll both need to shower and change. We’ll keep your personal effects in the lockers to the left.”  
Taylor jumped when Isaac put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Come on Tay,” he prodded.  
Taylor looked Morris in the eye for a moment, gaining nothing. With one last look back down the hallway he made his way into the showers.

When the lab workers tried to separate them they outright refused. Isaac knew that Taylor was scared and was going to stick by him as long as he could. As a result instead of being given separate rooms, they were taken to what looked like a much more updated version of the cells in Nevada. Instead of wire they were separated by acrylic glass, the doors shaped like those of a submarine or a ship so they’d have to step over a barrier to get inside. Air holes were strategically placed in the walls and the lights were brighter than Taylor remembered.  
“Here is where you will stay,” Morris had re-joined them.  
“These are the cells,” Taylor said to Isaac.  
“They won’t be locked,” Morris assured, making Taylor look up in surprise, “now that you’re here voluntarily. I’ll be back with some lab technicians to take your samples shortly. First we’ll provide you some lunch.”  
“Sounds good,” Isaac reasoned, shooting his brother a glance.  
“Take whichever bed you’d like,” Morris offered before stepping back through the door.  
He gave them a smile before it closed. Isaac’s expression changed when he heard the sound of a bolt on the other side.  
“He said the cells wouldn’t be locked, still doesn’t mean they trust us,” Taylor wasn’t at all surprised.  
Isaac went to try the door anyway. When it wouldn’t budge he sighed and stepped back.  
Taylor went to inspect the nearest cell. They each had a clean bed and an actual running toilet this time. Isaac took the moment to read the hospital band they’d put on his wrist.  
“There’s only six,” Taylor realised aloud.  
“Huh?” Isaac raised a brow.  
“There’s only six cells,” Taylor shot him a glance, “but there’s seven of us, and you.”  
“They did initially want me somewhere else,” Isaac pointed out, “and your number seven isn’t exactly attainable.”  
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Taylor shrugged, “but then we don’t have Colin anymore either.”  
Isaac didn’t know what to say to that so he said nothing.   
Taylor took a deep breath and sat on the bed to wait. Their lunch soon arrived, and once they were done with it Morris returned with his clipboard to quiz Isaac about his health history. When the surgery to remove his rib came up Taylor couldn’t stop his face going red.  
“That’s interesting…” Morris said under his breath once it had been explained.  
“Why?” Isaac was curious.  
“One of our clones had a similar experience,” he replied absently.  
“Really?” Isaac’s brow rose, shooting Taylor a glance.  
Taylor couldn’t hide the guilty look on his face.  
“Had the same surgery and everything,” Morris added some notes to his clipboard, “that will be all for now. I’ll be back shortly to take some preliminary samples. Nothing too strenuous for either of you. Then we’ll get onto the harder ones tonight after you’ve had your evening meal.”  
“Okay,” Isaac shrugged, it having been easy so far.  
He was already wondering why Taylor had been so on edge about all of this. He watched as Morris took his leave before looking back at his brother in the second cell.  
“It was Colin,” he revealed, pacing a little, “they said Colin had the surgery back in 2010.”  
“So…” Isaac paused to work it out, “he would have been the same age and everything.”  
Taylor just shrugged and kept pacing.  
“That’s weird,” Isaac frowned, making himself more comfortable on the bed.  
“No more than the rest of it,” Taylor smirked.  
“No I mean…” Isaac corrected, “I’ve just noticed that some of you are more like me than others, that’s all.”  
“What do you mean?” Taylor frowned.  
“I’ll tell you later,” Isaac considered, realising he didn’t really want to talk about Keandre where someone might be listening in.  
Taylor rolled his eyes and continued to pace.

“Hey I’m just checking in,” Carey was relieved when his call was answered as he fixed the Bluetooth in his ear, “how are you? Are you okay?”  
“Fine now, I think,” Alex replied, “still a bit pissed I lost my equipment but you know… lesser of two evils at this point. It’s not every day you find out someone wants you dead.”  
“Yeah…” Carey didn’t know what to say to that, “but you still have the money from Colin, right? Can’t that replace it?”  
“Not really,” Alex considered, “I actually gave half the money to Jesse when I got it.”  
“…You did?”  
“Yeah I mean, he didn’t have a job and he had to go on the run too,” Alex shrugged, “it wasn’t a big deal, I didn’t need it. But I should be able to replace most of it, and the most important stuff… it’ll just take time.”  
“Well good luck with that,” Carey wouldn’t begin to know what he was talking about computer-wise and so didn’t want to egg him on, “how’s your Mom?”  
“She’s watching TV, she hasn’t really talked much,” Alex admitted, “I think it’s just going to take some getting used to.”  
“Tell me about it,” Carey agreed.  
“What about you two?”  
“We’re settling into the new house okay, we put up CCTV yesterday and we’re just figuring out the nursery properly. I hope you can come see someday.”  
“I’d like that. But I won’t get my hopes up.”  
Carey’s expression turned dismal and he looked over his shoulder to the back door of the house to make sure Emma wasn’t in sight.  
“I know what you mean,” he replied eventually, “but who knows where this is going to take us I guess.”  
“You’re still worried?”  
“Of course I’m worried,” he scoffed, moving across the concrete driveway to where a basketball sat to the side, “no one’s out of trouble yet. Not to mention they threatened Emma in Hawaii and I am still super crazy angry about that.”  
“Did Mark tell you what Jesse told us Taylor told him yet?”  
Carey paused once he’d picked the basketball up, a confused look on his face.  
“That was too complicated I have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
“About Taylor’s kids and why the labs wanted them.”  
“No one said anything, I didn’t know we knew,” Carey frowned, dribbling the ball as he made his way back to the center of the driveway, “I assumed it was because they’re technically part of the Hanson family and all that.”  
“Well yeah, but so is Emma’s.”  
Carey paused at that.  
“What are you trying to say?”  
“I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you-“  
“Alex. Come on,” Carey frowned, “don’t do this to me. What aren’t you saying?”  
“Taylor was told that none of us were ever meant to reproduce,” Alex finally blurted out, “that’s why they wanted his kids. They’re trying to work out why he could, and why they exist.”  
Carey felt a chill run down his spine and he looked over his shoulder again.  
“I don’t know what that means for you.”  
“Mark knew this?” Carey frowned, turning back as he bounced the ball before aiming for the hoop.  
It missed.  
“Yeah I mean… Jesse told both of us in Miami. He was pretty upset about the whole thing.”  
“Understandably,” Carey muttered, not bothering to retrieve the ball.  
“I’m sorry, I thought he would have told you already.”  
“Yeah… I would have thought that too. Thanks for letting me know,” his voice turned solemn.  
“I can let you know when I start building my console again?”  
“That would be great,” Carey insisted, “I can hook you up with my new cameras somehow. Something tells me I might need the extra help soon.”  
He went to retrieve the ball.  
“I’ll be here,” Alex shrugged to himself again, “if I can’t help myself I might as well help you guys.”  
“Yeah, thanks,” Carey meant it more than it sounded, “thanks Alex.”  
“Bye.”  
Carey pulled the Bluetooth piece from his ear and slipped it into his pocket as he dribbled the ball a little, feeling the anger building in his chest. The next time he aimed for the hoop he got it in easily.  
“What the fuck are you up to Mark?” he said between his teeth.


	8. Chapter 8

Once the first round of testing had taken place – the same things Taylor had gone through in Nevada, such as an ocular exam and skin checks – the brothers were fed again before the doctors came back. This time they took blood, hair and saliva samples (also from Taylor) and alluded to needing both semen and urine.  
“That’s going to be awkward,” Isaac looked across at Taylor through the glass.  
“Are we even going to be able to?” Taylor frowned.  
“We have ways to help you if you need it,” Morris assured, “and we’d like them by morning so please let us know if you’ll need anything.”  
“Wow,” Isaac rubbed his face before it could go red.  
“When do I get to see my kids?” Taylor demanded from his seat on the second bed.  
“I’ll organise a meeting for you tomorrow morning once we have the samples,” Morris assured.  
“Why can’t I see them tonight?” Taylor frowned, “why can’t I see them _now_?”  
“They’re busy with the doctors right now, and we need to give you more time to comply with our guidelines,” Morris didn’t look at all fazed by Taylor’s mood, “you’ll see them in the morning I guarantee it personally.”  
Taylor had to admit to himself that he actually felt a little better at that, despite not consciously trusting the doctor. The handlers with him passed both Taylor and Isaac separate containers for their samples before heading for the door.   
“For now I’ll bid you good night,” Morris gave them a nod, “the lights will stay on until 9pm. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning at 6.”  
Both Hansons watched him leave without a word before turning to each other.  
“I’ll say it again,” Isaac’s brow rose, “this will be awkward.”  
“I don’t even think I can,” Taylor pulled a face at the idea, “I mean how are we supposed to relax?”  
“They did say they had ways to help,” Isaac shrugged, “think they have porn?”  
“In my experience their way of ‘helping’ involves needles,” Taylor set the containers aside.

“So I need to talk to you about something…” Carey winced a little as he took his seat at the dinner table.  
“That sounds ominous,” Emma’s eyes narrowed, pausing with his plate.  
“It kinda is.”  
“Is it clone related?”  
“What bad news isn’t?” he couldn’t help but scoff.  
Emma shrugged at that before setting his plate down and going back for hers. He waited for her to come back and sit down before he said anything else.  
“I checked in with Alex today,” he began before even touching his food, “and he told me something…”  
“Told you what?” Emma frowned, realising he’d trailed off.  
He hesitated, tapping his fingers on the table as he tried to think of how to say it.  
“Apparently when Jesse and Taylor left Nevada, Taylor told him something the doctors said. About us,” he tried to simplify it, “about how when they were making the modifications to the embryos they added in a little footnote to make sure we couldn’t have kids of our own.”  
He watched Emma’s face contort in confusion.  
“Obviously for whatever reason it didn’t work on Taylor,” he diverted his eyes awkwardly, “and so they wanted to work out why. They wanted to run some tests – on him and on his kids – and that’s why they took them.”  
Emma sat back in her seat, and Carey could see that her face had paled.  
“I don’t want to scare you, but I can’t hide this from you either,” his brow furrowed, “they’ve already known for a while and I only just found out.”  
“They?” was the first thing Emma asked.  
Carey scratched his nose, not really wanting to throw the others under the bus. But he was angry too.  
“All of them,” he admitted, “Taylor told Jesse, Jesse told Mark and Alex when they were in Miami.”  
“Have you spoken to Mark since he went back to Chicago?”  
“A few times,” he nodded, “and he said nothing. I don’t know what to do about it.”  
“For now you should probably eat your dinner before it gets cold,” she nodded toward it.  
He sighed to himself as she picked up her own fork and began on hers. The moment of silence was awkward.  
“Are you okay?” he asked when he couldn’t take it anymore.  
“No,” she admitted honestly, “but this isn’t something we can deal with right now and I’m hungry.”  
Carey let it slide at that, desperately trying to come up with something as he started to eat. They’d only just gotten the house, he didn’t want to lose it. But Emma and their child’s safety was paramount. If he had to choose, they would win every time.

Taylor shot awake, sitting up in a sweat. His eyes went to the door as Isaac jolted in the cell beside him.  
“What? What is it?” he struggled to turn around on the small bed so that he could see his brother.  
Taylor took a moment to get his breath back, wiping his face when he registered that the cell door was in fact still open.  
“Nothing,” he shook his head, instantly feeling guilty, “nothing, just a nightmare.”  
Isaac sat up with a grunt anyway, looking toward the digital clock on the wall.  
“Guess there’s no point in sleeping again,” he rubbed his eyes, “they’ll be here any minute now.”  
“Sorry,” Taylor apologised, leaning back against the glass.  
“Not your fault.”  
He rested his arms on his knees as he rubbed his biceps, just trying to calm himself down. He was surprised he’d managed to get any sleep at all considering how sure he’d been that he’d wake up to find himself locked in again. Isaac likewise just took the time to wake up and they didn’t speak another word until the door finally opened.  
“Good morning,” Morris greeted with a smile, flanked by two handlers, “I trust you slept well. We’ll collect those samples and then talk about what we’re going to do today.”  
Both Taylor and Isaac indicated where the containers were as the handlers entered their cells. Morris waited until they’d left with them before continuing.  
“Firstly we’d like to take you both through a standard physical. It should only take a couple of hours. You’ll have breakfast first of course and then a light lunch afterward.”  
“When do I see my kids?” Taylor asked, noticing they hadn’t gotten a mention.  
“After your physical,” Morris assured, “you can take your lunch with them if you’d like.”  
Taylor nodded before shooting Isaac a glance.   
“Your breakfast will arrive shortly,” Morris promised before turning to leave.  
It arrived not long after, and Taylor found he had to force himself to eat. But Morris didn’t reappear until he was done.  
“Follow me,” Morris indicated for them to leave with him.  
The brothers followed him from the cells back into the main hallway where they were flanked by two of the handlers. The room they were led to looked like a cross between a lab and a gym. When Morris led them to the weights first, Taylor stood back a little so Isaac could go first.  
“First a strength test,” Morris explained, “then we’ll work on stamina.”  
“I can see the particular relevance between us,” Isaac indicated Taylor behind him, “but how does this work without comparison to the other clones? They’re all pretty different in the strength department, I’d guess.”  
“We hope to eventually compare all of them,” Morris agreed, “but for now the two of you will have to do. At this point we are mostly using you for a reference point with the assumption that Taylor here will have assimilated the most due to similar lifestyle factors.”  
Isaac and Taylor’s eyes met awkwardly and Taylor shrugged.  
“Guess I’ll go first,” Isaac mirrored his look as he turned back to Morris.

Taylor didn’t want to leave his brother, but when the offer came up to finally see Ezra and Penny he couldn’t agree quickly enough. Morris was still running physical tests on Isaac when he was led back into the main corridor and further into the building than they’d gone before. There was a large window in a darker part of the hall that bright light was filtering through, and when they came to it Taylor’s breath caught in his throat.  
A female doctor sat at a white desk in a white room, doing some kind of coloring activity with both Penny and Ezra. Ezra was concentrating on what he was doing while Penny was talking to the doctor. Before Taylor thought to try and listen in to what they were talking about, the handler with him had opened the door and indicated for him to enter. Not thinking twice he darted for it.  
“Hey guys,” he greeted cautiously, both their heads darting up.  
“Dad!” Penny immediately jumped up and ran to his side.  
He pulled her into a hug, and when Ezra stood from the table he indicated for his son to join them. He couldn’t help but hold onto them a little longer than they wanted him to.  
“Are you guys okay?” his brow furrowed.  
“They’re fine, Mr Hanson,” the doctor assured, also getting to her feet, “they didn’t tell me you were coming.”  
Taylor ignored her.  
“We’re okay,” Ezra insisted, and Taylor instantly felt relief.  
“Is Mom okay?” Penny was obviously worried, and Taylor once again wondered exactly how it all went down.  
“She’s fine,” Taylor insisted, “they’re all fine, and we’ll see them again real soon.”  
“Are we going back?” Ezra asked.  
“We’ll be going home in just two days,” Taylor promised, “once they’ve finished whatever they’re doing here, we’ll all go home. To Tulsa.”  
Penny’s eyes lit up and she hugged him again.   
“So what have you been doing here?” he asked when she let go.  
“Just a few educational activities in between their testing,” the woman cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses.  
“What tests have been done?” Taylor demanded, trying to keep his tone civil in front of the kids.  
“They took our blood,” Ezra showed his arm where a band aid clearly sat.  
“They cut my hair,” Penny pouted, pulling at her fringe.  
“They looked at our eyes and our moles and our skin,” Ezra pulled a face.  
“Nothing you haven’t done yourself already,” the doctor assured.  
“Yeah that’s what I’m afraid of,” Taylor muttered, jumping at a noise from the door.  
It was two handlers bringing in some trays of food.  
“Lunch time,” he gave Ezra and Penny pats on the back to indicate for them to go back to the table.  
On their way he took a quick look around the room, seeing two beds against the back wall. They looked well slept-in already.   
“Will Dr Damien be coming too?” Penny asked the woman as she stood aside.  
“He should be back after lunch,” she seemed to promise.  
“Who’s Dr Damien?” Taylor had to wonder if he was the kid-friendly version of Morris.  
“He’s our doctor who was running the tests,” Ezra explained, “he said you knew him.”  
Taylor frowned at that, unsure if he should say that he didn’t or not.  
“Yeah,” Penny jumped in, “he said you were with him last time you left.”  
“Maybe,” he took the seat the doctor had been sitting in, “I don’t really remember.”  
“You’d remember him,” Ezra insisted, “he said he was our Uncle.”  
“Hope you don’t mind.”  
Taylor didn’t have a chance to react before hearing the voice from the doorway. The man standing there took his breath away yet again.  
“I took the liberty of introducing myself. Thought a familiar face might do them some good.”  
Taylor stood from the chair barely seconds after having sat down.  
“Dad?” Ezra looked up worriedly.  
“I remember you,” his eyes narrowed, “I remember hearing Morris talking to you.”  
“Step outside,” the doctor gave the door a nod, “let’s not do this in here.”  
Taylor looked down at his son and daughter, not wanting to leave them already.  
“I’ll be right back,” he promised, giving Penny’s shoulder a pat as he stepped past.  
He couldn’t help but take a deep breath as he followed the clone from the room.


	9. Chapter 9

“You’re another one,” Taylor folded his arms as soon as the door closed.  
“I’ll answer any immediate questions you have,” he was being formal, “but this is taking time away from your children and we can always talk properly later.”  
“Why haven’t we met you before?” was Taylor’s first question.  
“I’ve mostly been stationed here in Dallas. This is the first time any of you have been here.”  
“Why were you assigned to my kids?”  
“As I said, to give them a familiar face. They were understandably upset when they arrived.”  
Taylor looked back through the window, wondering just how upset he was talking about.  
“Anything else?”  
“Your name is Damien?”  
“First name, yes,” he nodded.  
“And you told them you were my brother?”  
“Yes. I was instructed to leave any experiment details up to you to disclose. We were not sure how much you’d already told them.”  
Taylor felt his face going a little red. His plan had been to introduce Jesse as their Uncle. Now that had gone out the window.  
“Take a moment,” Damien insisted, “calm yourself down, and get back to your lunch.”  
“Why are you here?” Taylor frowned, “why are you working with them?”  
“We can cover that later,” he insisted.  
Taylor paused a moment longer, still not moving to go back into the room.  
“What kind of tests have you been running on them?” his eyes narrowed again.  
“Mostly genetic,” Damien shrugged, “DNA samples for example. Mostly what you would have gone through in your induction.”  
“And how is that going to tell you why I’m different?”  
Damien paused himself before smiling slightly.  
“I wouldn’t worry myself with that,” his tone told Taylor that he simply couldn’t be bothered explaining it to someone who wouldn’t know what he was talking about anyway, “rest assured we are unobtrusively getting everything we need. They will be ready to leave the day after tomorrow as promised.”  
Taylor hesitated at that, once again slightly reassured. He gave Damien one last glance before heading back into the room.

Taylor made as many excuses as he could to stay with the kids all day, but it eventually came time to head back. He waited until they were both tucked into bed for the night before letting the handlers lead him back to the cells.  
It had been late, so he was surprised when Isaac wasn’t there already.  
“Where’s my brother?” he immediately turned to the handlers.  
Just like Nevada, they were silent.   
“Seriously, where is he?” Taylor frowned as they made for the door, “ _wait_!”  
He went to go after them, stopping in his tracks when one of them turned back with a determined glare in his eyes. Taken aback he didn’t have a chance to react before the door closed and locked.  
“What the fuck,” he muttered under his breath, going up to the door anyway, “HEY! SOMEONE! ANYONE! WHERE IS HE?!”  
He pounded on the door, but he was ignored. He turned back to where the security camera was aimed almost directly at him and forced himself to try and calm down. Surely he’d be fine. Perhaps their latest round of ‘testing’ had just taken longer than expected.  
Trying to convince himself that that’s what it was, he scratched his head and made his way into his previous cell to sit down and wait.

Isaac’s eyes opened slowly to glaring light. He saw dark shapes moving to his left and right, but he couldn’t make out what they were.  
“Isaac,” he heard a voice to his right, “are you with us?”  
He blinked, trying hard to focus. But nothing was coming back.   
“Isaac…?”  
“Where am I?” his voice seemed to come out slower than he intended.   
“Concentrate on waking up,” he began to recognise the voice of Dr Morris, “we just have a few questions for you.”  
“Questions?” he frowned, “what questions?”  
“About your parents of course.”  
Isaac’s eyes closed again as he tried to rub his face. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t.   
“Have you been in contact with your parents?”  
“Yeah,” he sighed, which was all the effort he could put into his voice.  
“How have you been contacting them?”  
“By phone,” he was confused at why he would ask.  
“Do you know where your parents are?”  
“No,” he turned his head away, seeing another dark shape to his left.  
He squinted as he tried to focus on that one instead.   
“Have you seen your parents since they left Tulsa?”  
“No,” he repeated, the word barely making it out.  
“Did they leave you any hints as to where they were going?”  
“No. They left from El Paso that’s all I know.”

When the lights shut off at 9pm for the second day in a row, Taylor got to his feet again.  
“HEY!” he made his way back to the door, “I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER!”  
There was no response. Yet again he was berating Isaac in his head for ever deciding to come with him.  
“JUST TELL ME HE’S OKAY!” he yelled desperately, not even sure if anyone could hear him.  
He looked up at the camera again, but he couldn’t tell in the dark if it had a microphone or not. The only light left in the space was what came through the crack in the bottom of the door and the soft blue light coming from the digital clock on the far wall.  
“Come on Ike,” he put his hands to his head, not sure what else he could do, “come back already.”

Mark was in the elevator heading back up to the apartment when he got a phone call from Carey. Pausing a moment to wonder why he was calling at this time of day when he hadn’t heard from him in a while to begin with, he eventually answered and put the phone to his ear.  
“Yeah?”  
“Where are you?”  
“Just getting home,” his brow rose as the doors opened and he stepped out, “something wrong?”  
“You could say that.”  
Mark paused as he stepped out of the elevator. He didn’t think he’d left this many lights on…  
“Anything you want to tell me?”  
“Huh?” he frowned, turning to drop his bag and keys on the front desk before stepping further toward the first living area to investigate.  
There was an odd smell in the apartment too.  
“Just wondering if there’s anything you’ve forgotten to tell me. About your time in Miami maybe?”  
“What are you talking about?” Mark frowned, “you suddenly want all the gory details?”  
He stopped in the doorway to the dining area, seeing that one of the bedroom lights was on. Thinking it would have been odd for Russo to be up there, he instantly worried that Colin’s wife might have come home.  
He’d certainly changed the apartment around a bit in his time there…  
“Only about something in particular,” Carey’s voice brought him back, “what did Jesse tell you, Mark?”  
“About what?” he frowned, starting to move toward the bedroom cautiously.  
“About us not being able to have kids?” he could hear the annoyance in his brother’s voice.  
Just as Carey said it, Mark saw a shadow moving in the bedroom.   
“Yeah he mentioned something,” he admitted distractedly, lowering his voice.  
“Were you ever going to say anything?!” Carey’s voice rose, “what right did you have to keep that from me?! Did you even think of Emma?!”  
“I’m gonna have to call you back,” Mark said under his breath before ending the call.  
He’d made it to the doorway and had paused when he saw the shadow of someone sitting on the bed. He only frowned in confusion when he saw the sparkling pink gown that she was barely wearing.  
“Hey there big boy,” she greeted, leaning forward to expose her breasts even further.  
Mark couldn’t decide if he was supposed to run or not, but right now he was frozen on the spot.  
“I’ve missed you,” she pouted, “you were supposed to call me, and… you didn’t. I’d say that calls for a little _punishment_ , don’t you?”

Carey was fuming, and he had to force himself not to throw the phone across the room. Instead he immediately tried to call back. When it wasn’t answered he decided to call Alex instead.  
“Carey?” he was surprised to hear from him.  
“Can you get in to the surveillance on Mark’s apartment?” he asked, having trouble keeping his voice steady.  
“Not yet… but I haven’t tried,” Alex admitted, “I can do it now if you want?”  
“That’d be great.”  
He waited impatiently as he heard Alex typing in the background.  
“Have you heard from Jesse or Taylor?” he asked in the meantime.  
“Not since Zac was going to stop him from going into the labs, why?”  
“Nothing,” he shrugged, “just an odd feeling is all.”  
“And I wasn’t supposed to tell you about that either.”  
“I know,” Carey chewed his lip, “just check on them for me, will you?”  
“Apparently that’s my job now.”  
Carey hesitated at that before pulling a face.  
“Sorry,” he felt his adrenaline slow.  
“It’s okay. It’s a cool distraction from building the console.”  
Another pause while Carey waited for him to work.  
“I can’t get into the apartment but I got into the lobby area,” Alex admitted, “he got home a few minutes ago. Everything seems okay.”  
“Okay,” Carey nodded to himself, “thanks Alex.”  
“Wait, why are you asking?” Alex asked before he could hang up, “is something wrong?”  
“I don’t know,” Carey admitted, “it could just be him being a dick. He hung up on me.”  
“Oh. Okay.”  
“Let me know how you go with the other two,” Carey insisted.  
“I will. Bye.”  
“Bye Alex.”

Taylor hadn’t slept when the door opened again. He’d completely lost track of time. Thinking that it might be Isaac coming back he was on his feet before anyone came through.  
When he saw it was a handler he froze.  
“What’s going on?” his eyes darted warily.  
The man left the door open and pointed toward the cell. Taylor could tell he wanted him back in there.  
“No,” he frowned, “tell me where my brother is! We weren’t supposed to be apart!”  
The handler looked over his shoulder before giving someone behind him a nod. He reached into a pocket and pulled out something black and square. When Taylor saw the sparks come out of the end of it he flinched backward. When the handler suddenly advanced on him Taylor fled back to the cell and shut the door himself for protection.  
“What the fuck is going on?!” he was incredulous, “why are you doing this?!”  
The handler came to lock the cell, waiting until the bolt was in before putting the Taser away. Once the cell was locked properly the handler took a step back and Taylor’s eyes went to the door where Morris made an appearance.  
“Sorry about that,” he seemed to muse as he stepped in, “I have some bad news and I wanted to deliver it in the safest way possible for both of us.”  
“Where’s my brother?” Taylor couldn’t help but gulp a little.  
“Don’t worry about him,” Morris insisted, “he is being well taken care of.”  
Taylor hesitated at that, now even more worried about the bad news.  
“And my kids?” his brow furrowed.  
“They’re fine,” Morris assured, stepping closer to the door, “though we may need to keep them a little longer than originally planned.”  
Taylor hesitated, feeling his face go red.  
“And me?” his brow rose.  
“Likewise, we might need to keep you and your brother a little longer,” Morris shrugged, “it’s nothing personal, we just want to make sure we cover all bases. Once we are through with you and the children however, we do still intend to set you free. That I promise you. Isaac… we’re not so sure.”  
Taylor looked down to where the lock sat on the other side of the glass, before looking up to the clock.  
“If Jesse doesn’t hear from us by tomorrow…” he began in a low tone, “he knows where we are, and he’s going to come for us.”  
“As your brother has already disclosed, and we look forward to that,” Morris smiled a little, putting Taylor even more on edge, “it’s in both ours and the public’s best interest that we bring Jesse in. If we’d known his true history when we’d first met him we would not have let him leave. Quite frankly he’s a danger to society, and rather than spend the remainder of his days in a jail cell somewhere – as I’m sure law enforcement would prefer – we’d like to have him here where he will actually be of some use.”  
“You can’t contain him,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “not when he’s prepared.”  
“I guess we’ll find out just which of us is more prepared this time then, wont we?” Morris mused before turning to head for the door again, “your breakfast will be in shortly.”  
Taylor locked eyes with the handler as he also turned to leave. He couldn’t help but feel there was a smug expression under that mask.  
As the door closed he ran his fingers through his hair and took a seat on the bed again. Though they did keep saying they were going to let Ezra and Penny go, they weren’t exactly proving themselves trustworthy in the process. Jesse had always been their last hope.  
What did Morris have planned? How were they going to stop him this time?  
“Come on Jesse,” he prayed aloud, looking to the ceiling, “please just work your magic and get us out of here somehow.”


	10. Chapter 10

Jesse finished off his can of Dr Pepper as Chelsea walked past and gave him a pat on the shoulder.  
“Almost time to go to work, hon,” she sighed to herself.  
He looked up toward the clock on the wall as he set the can down.  
“You’re right,” he agreed reluctantly.  
He watched her shadow disappear into the other room and rested his chin in his hand as he waited for her to come back. She returned with a small bag and a smile grew across his face.  
“I packed you food for the road,” she set it on the table in front of him, “or you know, if you forget your dinner again. Will you be back by breakfast?”  
“I hope so,” he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her in to his side, “I’ll call you as soon as I’m alone.”  
“Just make sure you get the job done first,” she ran her fingers through his hair before leaning in to kiss him.  
“Yes ma’am,” he grinned as she pulled away.  
The truck was mostly already loaded up so he only had to take his food and a jacket out with him. He threw the jacket through the window onto the passenger seat before opening the door and pulling himself in. He looked up to see Chelsea standing on the porch, giving him a wave the moment they made eye contact. He smiled and waved back before starting the truck and backing out.  
The drive to Dallas gave him time to think. He wasn’t sure he could count on help from Alex this time, and he didn’t really want to bother him while he and his mother were already under stress. He wasn’t even sure if Alex knew what Isaac and Taylor had done let alone where the actual base was. Realising he needed at least one other person to know where he was going in case things didn’t go his way, he pulled himself together and dialled his number.  
“Jesse?”  
“Hey Al,” Jesse cleared his throat, “how are y’all doin’?”  
“We’re okay,” he sounded surprised to hear from him, “…what are you doing?”  
“I’m on my way to Dallas to the lab there,” Jesse admitted freely, “it seems the Hanson brothers have gotten themselves in a spot of trouble and need some help getting out. You don’t happen to have surveillance going on that place yet do you?”  
“Uh… no? What happened?! I thought Zac was supposed to be talking Taylor out of doing anything crazy!”  
“Well, he failed, it turns out,” Jesse checked his mirrors, “either that or they came to some agreement with Morris which he’s decided to re-neg on. Surprise, surprise.”  
“So Taylor’s back in the labs?”  
“Along with Isaac this time.”  
“Jesus Christ!”  
“Pretty sure he had nothing to do with it,” Jesse rolled his eyes, “do you think you could maybe look into getting a hold of some cameras for me?”  
“I don’t even have the address!”  
“I can send it to you if I pull over.”  
“Well then… the sooner I have it the sooner I can work on it,” Alex reasoned, “but… you’re not gonna kill everyone again, are you?”  
“I didn’t kill _everyone_ ,” Jesse scoffed, “I’m just gonna do what’s necessary to get them and the kids out and that’s it, I’ll bail.”  
There was a moment of silence on the line and Jesse knew that reminding him about the kids had given him pause.  
“I’ll see what I can do,” Alex promised.  
“Thanks Al. I promise to keep my phone on this time,” Jesse insisted before ending the call.  
He pulled off onto the side of the interstate in order to send him the address.

Taylor remained sitting on the bed when his lunch tray was slid through the bottom of the door. He’d barely eaten breakfast and he couldn’t bring himself to eat this either.  
The handler gave him a stern look before turning to leave.  
“When can I see my kids?!” Taylor’s voice rose once eye contact had been lost.  
Again, he was ignored.  
“Are _you_ a father?” he tried.  
The handler paused, but didn’t look back.  
“Please,” Taylor begged, rubbing his thumb against his calf pacifyingly, “I just want to see them, and I’m sure they want to see me too.”  
Giving him nothing else to work from, the handler stepped through the door and closed it behind him. Taylor leant back against the glass wall and closed his eyes. He didn’t know what else to do. How long were they going to leave him here?  
It wasn’t long before the door opened again, the same handler reappearing with Morris. Taylor again didn’t move from the bed.  
“I’m told you’re not eating,” Morris feigned concern as he came closer to the cell door.  
“I want to see my kids,” Taylor stared him down, “I just want to know they’re okay.”  
“If you want something from us you’ll have to give us something in return,” the doctor’s eyes narrowed, “we have a visual test to perform. After that, we’ll see what we can do.”  
Taylor’s eyes went to the handler as he came to unlock the cell door.  
“Visual test?” he frowned, still not moving.  
“Your brother is doing it as we speak,” Morris seemed to assure.  
Realising this was a chance to see Isaac again, Taylor finally pulled himself from the bed.  
He was led back down the hallway toward the room where the kids were, and his heart leapt into his throat when he realised they’d have to walk past the window. Trying to contain himself so they wouldn’t change their minds he ignored a glance from Morris before forcing the handler behind him to stop at the window. He’d only intended to take a moment, but…  
“Wait,” he said aloud making Morris stop, “what are they doing?!”  
At a quick glance it looked like they were taking Penny’s blood. But a closer look told him the needle the woman held was being emptied, not filled.  
“What is that?!” he demanded, “what are you giving her?!”  
Ezra was on his bed behind them and appeared to be asleep. Damien was standing aside just watching the woman work. They quite obviously couldn’t hear him through the glass.  
Morris sighed as he came back to the window as if Taylor’s objection was highly inconvenient for him.  
“Something to help her sleep, I believe,” he shrugged, “I don’t oversee their particular project personally.”  
“But this is your experiment,” Taylor frowned, “how can you not know?!”  
“There are so many facets to this particular ‘experiment’ of which you would not understand,” Morris seemed to muse, “and this is not our only focus. You think you’re the only ones?”  
That made Taylor pause. He once again wondered if the original count of twelve embryos had been a lie – there were suddenly eight of them alive after all, not seven.  
“While we are certainly excited to have you and your brethren back under our radar we still have other projects that we need to focus on. Your group are not necessarily a priority.”  
“Then let us _go_!” Taylor could feel his adrenaline pumping, “just take what you want and let us go! Go back to your other work and leave us _alone_!”  
He hadn’t been paying any attention to the handler behind him, so the hit from the Taser was completely unexpected. Morris just stared as he went down before stepping aside to knock on the door. Taylor couldn’t concentrate enough in order to make a sound that would reach Penny, and before he could move Damien appeared to help the handler drag him away.  
He was pulled into a dark room where he felt himself being propped into a corner and his wrists being tied. He heard Morris talking to Damien but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He was too focused on trying to get his muscles to work again.  
By the time he found he could move properly he was aware the handler was standing over him and watching him closely. Morris was on the other side of the room where he made out a dark shape sitting in a chair. He instantly recognised the back of Isaac’s head.  
“Ike?” he tried to sit up further, causing the handler to take a step closer.  
He froze, knowing what he was facing if he dared move further. It looked like Isaac was wearing headphones and Taylor was sure he wouldn’t hear him if he tried to call out. Able to see what was in front of him, Taylor saw that it was some kind of small screen that was flashing what appeared to be random images.  
Morris stood aside watching him closely.

“Fuck everything!” Jesse scowled to himself, dropping the empty rifle to his side and pulling the Glock he’d acquired in Miami from his belt.  
He aimed at the end of the corridor and fired. As expected, the two guards that had been standing at the end scattered once one had been hit in the shoulder.  
Jesse paused at a floor map on the wall. He wasn’t entirely sure of what he was looking for, as the receptionist had only been able to give him a vague guide. Finally seeing something that appeared at least somewhat familiar, he headed for the nearest stairwell and began to make his way up.  
He was thanking his lucky stars that Alex had finally been able to get into both the radios and the cameras. The base was three times the size of Nevada and had well updated security. He easily would have been outmanned without the downtime.  
Emerging on the third floor he took aim at the knee of what he recognised as a handler and fired. The man went down easily and he continued down the corridor. According to the front desk this entire floor was dedicated to the cloning projects, but that didn’t mean the whole floor was _theirs _per se. It just meant that Morris could have been anywhere. This time, Jesse knew he was on the clock.  
This time, he wanted to hunt him down.__

Taylor jolted at the sound of a nearby gunshot and the handler immediately left his side to investigate. He wasn’t sure if he should take the chance to go for Isaac or not.  
“Sounds like our friend may have arrived,” Morris wasn’t moving himself.  
He didn’t sound at all worried.  
Taylor’s eyes went to the door as the handler opened it to peer down the corridor. He quickly closed it again.  
“C-5,” he confirmed, “armed.”  
“He shouldn’t have made it this far. I guess we’ll have to make do,” Morris sighed to himself, “be ready.”  
The handler gave a nod before standing aside the door. The Taser was ready in his hand. Taylor’s eyes locked to it as he strained to listen for Jesse’s footsteps. If he let Jesse get hit with the Taser he knew it would all be over.  
It didn’t take long before they heard someone come to the door. Taylor could barely tell the difference between the footsteps and his pounding heart.  
There was a pause before the doorknob turned. Before it could open more than a couple inches…  
“JESSE LOOK OUT!” Taylor yelled in warning.  
The door suddenly flew open, sending the handler back a few steps. The moment Jesse saw a black object in his hand he put a bullet in his shoulder before he could use it.  
“What the Hell?!” came Isaac’s voice from the other side of the room.  
“Taylor…?” Jesse was squinting into the dark as he fumbled for the light switch.  
“Down here,” he replied as the lights flickered on and he had to flinch at the brightness.  
“Y’all right in here?”  
“Getting better by the second,” Taylor promised, “Ike can’t hear anything.”  
“Mr Musgrove…” the doctor’s voice pulled his attention to Isaac’s side, “how glad we are to see you.”  
Jesse instantly raised the Glock.  
“WAIT! NO!” Taylor struggled to get to his feet, though he’d given Jesse pause, “you can’t!”  
“Why not?” Jesse demanded, “we can end this right now.”  
“No we can’t!” Taylor insisted, stepping in front of him but not in front of the gun, “because this doesn’t end with him! He’s a pawn in a bigger game!”  
Jesse frowned at that, not taking his eyes from Morris.  
“Please,” Taylor was trying to calm him down, “just get us and the kids out of here. They’re drugging them and I don’t know what with.”  
“Why?” Jesse finally looked to him.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shrugged with obvious worry.  
“Do you know where they are?” Jesse’s eyes went back to Isaac, seeing him trying to move in the chair.  
“I do.”  
There was a pause as Jesse stared Morris down, as if deciding what to do.  
“What are you doing to him?” he demanded.  
“It’s some kind of visual testing,” Taylor jumped in before Morris could answer, “please can we just _go_?”  
“Fine,” Jesse sighed, “go get him.”  
Taylor hesitated, looking down at his wrists. Jesse saw where his eyes went before reluctantly using his left hand to pull a Bowie knife from his jeans. Taylor stared at the blade as he used it to quickly slice the ties before sheathing it again. Trying not to think any more of it Taylor went straight for his brother.  
In the dark he hadn’t completely realised his predicament.  
“Tay?!” he was surprised to see him.  
Shooting a glance at Morris who’d stepped aside, Taylor removed the headphones.  
“Hang tight, we’re getting out of here,” he informed him before aiming for the strapping around his chin that held his head in place. 


	11. Chapter 11

When they came to the window Taylor stopped them.  
“There’s something you should know,” he quickly looked between them.  
“Because I’m just dying to know more at this point,” Isaac was sarcastic to cover his nerves.  
Jesse was keeping an eye on both ends of the hallway.  
“There’s another one,” Taylor came out with.  
“Another what?” Isaac frowned.  
“Another clone. I know we already found seven but I swear-“  
He cut off as Jesse grabbed the doorknob and stormed into the room.  
“Shit,” Taylor darted after him.  
Damien looked up from where he and the female doctor had been going over paperwork.  
“Step aside,” Jesse ordered, gun trained on him already.  
The woman let out a yelp, immediately backing against the side wall.  
“Mr Musgrove,” Damien stood from his seat but otherwise didn’t move, “surprise, surprise.”  
Taylor took a second to look between them. Their expressions were telling more than expected.  
“You know each other?” his brow furrowed.  
“Move out of the way,” Jesse ordered, ignoring Taylor, “and let them take the kids.”  
Damien slowly raised his hands, a smug expression on his face.  
“I’m not stopping you.”  
“Go,” Jesse waved the Hansons on.  
Taylor took a deep breath before rushing over to Ezra’s bed. Isaac followed, going to Penny’s. Damien’s eyes followed them the whole way.  
“I can’t carry him,” Taylor realised in a minor panic.  
“Help him get him outside,” Jesse ordered Damien.  
Damien paused, evidently not happy at being ordered around, but made his way to Ezra’s bed. By the time he’d taken hold of his legs so that he and Taylor could carry him out, Isaac already had Penny out the door.  
Ignoring the woman, Jesse kept the gun on Damien. Once they had Ezra outside he ordered him back into the room.  
“You know this won’t last, correct?” he drawled as he casually backed inside.  
“We’re not doing this again,” Jesse’s eyes were on fire, “if I see you again, I _will_ kill you.”  
Damien just smirked as Jesse shut and locked the door.  
“What the Hell was that?!” Taylor demanded once he knew Damien couldn’t hear.  
“Let’s go,” Jesse ignored him, sliding the gun back into his belt before bending to help carry Ezra.  
“Jesse what aren’t you telling us?” Taylor frowned, lifting Ezra under the arms.  
“Tay one thing at a time,” Isaac insisted, “where do we go?”  
“Stairs,” Jesse insisted, “there’s an outside door which shouldn’t be guarded.”  
“I think the lockers are down here somewhere too,” Isaac shot Taylor a glance.  
“We’ll grab our stuff if we can,” Taylor agreed, “if they haven’t moved it.”

Alex was biting his nails when he jumped at a sudden alarm. Quickly reaching for the keyboard to stop the horrible noise, he frowned when his mother asked what had happened from behind him.  
“Oh no,” he felt a lump in his throat, and struggled for a moment to untangle himself from the many cords before quickly closing the laptop, “oh no!”  
“What is it?”  
“Mom we gotta go!”

Jesse broke through the door and stopped in his tracks. Taylor nearly fell over him but managed to set Ezra on the ground. By the time Isaac made it through the door they’d all seen the two armed guards flanking a smug Morris.  
“How did he do that?” Isaac’s eyes darted.  
It hadn’t felt like they’d taken that long to get the kids.  
“No, no, no…” Taylor was pleading under his breath.  
“You’re not going anywhere this time,” Morris insisted, “and really, Jesse, we’ve barely gotten to know each other.”  
Jesse immediately reached for his gun. The guards’ reaction – obviously previously instructed – was to aim for Isaac and Taylor.  
“Jesse…?” Taylor hoped he’d noticed.  
He had, and he was already calculating. He could take one guard out in time but not both. He knew he was in a bind.  
“Don’t do anything silly,” Morris spoke down to them, “think of the children at least.”  
“You told me you were nearly done with us,” Taylor spoke up, “why can’t you just let us go?”  
“We were very nearly done with you, that’s true,” Morris considered, “but Mr Musgrove here is another matter. No… we’re not nearly done with him yet.”  
“You want Jesse,” Isaac realised aloud.  
Jesse was taking deep breaths, which wasn’t giving Taylor a lot of confidence. He’d already been glad Ezra and Penny were sleeping through this but now his thanks were tenfold.  
In a shocking move, Jesse suddenly raised his hands and spun the gun loosely on his finger.  
“If you let them go I’ll come easy,” he said decidedly, “and I know that means something to you.”  
The doctor’s eyes narrowed consideringly.  
“Jesse what are you doing?” Taylor had frozen on the spot.  
“Done,” Morris also shocked with his fast agreement.  
“What?” Taylor couldn’t believe it.  
“Let them go first,” Jesse demanded.  
“Hand over your weapons first,” Morris countered.  
Jesse’s brow rose, but he stooped to drop the gun all the same. He also slid the rifle from his shoulder and scooted them both aside. That done he stood again and kept his hands raised.  
“Are you sure about this?” Taylor had to ask.  
“I’m sure,” Jesse met his eye, “just take them home.”  
“How?” Taylor shrugged.  
“My truck’s around the corner. Keys are on the back tire.”  
“Take her,” Taylor turned to Isaac, “come back for us.”  
Isaac looked between them, not particularly wanting to move while the guns were still on them. But he did as he was told hoping he’d come back to actually find them there.  
“Tell me how to contact your wife so I can let her know,” Taylor said under his breath, stooping to hug Ezra’s shoulders.  
“You know the best way to keep a secret?” Jesse didn’t even look down, “it’s to not tell anyone to begin with.”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered at that, eyeing the slight bulge where the sheath for the Bowie knife sat under Jesse’s belt. Trying not to draw attention to it he focused on Morris instead.  
“Will this be it?” he asked him, “will you come after us again?”  
“I doubt we will need to,” Morris shook his head, “you and your brother are free to go home.”  
Taylor closed his eyes for a moment, just imagining being back in Tulsa. It had been far too long.  
His attention was soon diverted to Isaac racing back to them, coming straight for Ezra’s legs.  
“Good luck Jesse,” he said before he lifted him.  
“Yeah,” Taylor’s brow furrowed, “and thank you. I don’t know how to thank you.”  
“Just keep them safe,” Jesse’s eyes met his.  
Taylor paused, but nodded. Morris didn’t say another word as they carried Ezra back toward the truck.  
Once they were out of sight, Jesse’s hands lowered.  
“What are you waiting for?” he stared the guards down, “come and get me.”

Alex rechecked the number three times before dialling. As soon as he hit call he slammed his head against the phone box glass.  
It took a while for his call to be answered, and he was already panicking that Carey wasn’t going to.  
“Hello?”  
“Oh thank God,” he said under his breath, “Carey it’s Alex.”  
“Alex? What’s wrong?!”  
“I screwed up,” he was having trouble keeping himself composed, “they found me. But we got out.”  
“They found you? How?!”  
“Jesse asked me to hack the Dallas lab security,” he winced, “I thought they’d have the same intranet protection as Nevada but they didn’t. It was more updated. I didn’t have a chance to protect myself enough before they traced the hack.”  
“Where are you?! Are you far enough away?”  
“I think so. We just got in the hire car and started driving. I haven’t seen anything.”  
“Can you lay low in a motel or something?”  
“I figure we’ll have to,” Alex shrugged dismally, “I just… wanted you to know in case something happened. In case they find us.”  
“Don’t worry, okay?” Carey tried to calm him down, “you’re smart, Alex. You’ll figure this out. Just find somewhere to lay low and think it through. Stay in contact.”  
“I will. Thanks, Carey.”  
“Be careful. Call me from the motel.”

Taylor turned again in his seat when he heard one of the kids stir, but Penny was just rolling over on the back seat.  
“They’ll be okay,” Isaac tried to reassure from the driver’s seat.  
“We don’t know what they did to them,” Taylor said under his breath, “we don’t know that for sure.”  
“I’m sure they wouldn’t have done anything they didn’t do to us,” Isaac pointed out.  
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”  
Isaac bit his bottom lip, getting momentary flashbacks of his interrogation.  
“Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it,” he told himself as much as Taylor.  
“We need to find a phone,” Taylor changed the subject, “I need to call Natalie.”  
“And I need to call Nicole,” Isaac agreed, “and we need to decide what to do.”  
“Go home,” Taylor insisted, “Morris assured me they wouldn’t come after us again. We can go home to Tulsa.”  
“Ah… are you sure?” Isaac’s brow rose.  
“I might regret it in the morning, but I’m sure,” Taylor nodded to himself, “he said he was nearly done with us anyway so they wouldn’t have to chase us. I think they’re happy with just having Jesse.”  
“Jesse gave himself up for us,” Isaac realised aloud.  
“He gave himself up for them,” Taylor indicated over his shoulder, “and now they might never meet him.”  
An awkward silence filled the truck and Taylor sat back in his seat. It was going to be a long drive no matter where they headed.

“Exactly why are you visiting the States?” the customs officer asked, “and how long will you be here?”  
“I am in USA for… how to say…”  
“Take your time.”  
“I go to Oklahoma, to Tulsa. I find lost family. My brother,” he smiled.


End file.
